Here In Your Arms
by shyesplease
Summary: Sequel to "Baby, It's Fact". On the road to the wizard competition, Justin and Alex find themselves in a whirlwind of drama. Will they win? Will they stay together? Among many more questions to be answered. JALEX. R&R! On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is the sequel to "Baby, It's Fact", although I don't think you really need to read that to follow this story. Only thing you would need to know is that the Wizard World, the parents, Max, and Harper know Justin and Alex are together and they are accepted by them all. You might just want to read chapters 28 and 29 so you're not lost.

Enjoy!

* * *

They had preoccupied the living room couch after dinner to watch some TV and digest their food, but, now, hours later, they had ended up lying down in each other's arms. The TV volume was a faint whisper in the background as they stared at each other intently, yet with adoration.

Justin's arms were encircled around Alex's petite waist as Alex's were around his neck.

"I don't want today to end," She whispered, staring into his grey-green orbs.

"Me neither, but it eventually will and then school will be starting up again," Justin responded back, lightly kissing her on the forehead. It was the last night of summer vacation for them all, sadly ending the endless days and nights that they spent together. They had traveled all over the world in the I.P.P. and to not be able to do things like that so frequently anymore dampened the mood even further.

"At least you're staying home for college," Alex commented, letting her hand graze over the hair of his sideburn, down to the dip of his chin. "I don't think I could bare to be away from you for so long."

Justin tightened his hold around Alex's frame, forcing her to be closer; not that she minded. "Well, I'm not going anywhere," He softly stated. He brushed his lips over each of her eyelids and then down to her lips.

They deepened it, letting each other occupy their mouths blissfully. Justin moved his one hand to hoist her leg up and he began to run his hands up and down the softness of her legs.

"Is it safe?" Max hollered as he entered the room, his one hand covering his eyes. He still wasn't exactly comfortable seeing Justin and Alex display affection towards each other yet, especially the kind they were in the middle of.

He used his other hand to guide himself to the living room. "I _said_," He said, stressing the word, "is it safe?"

Justin and Alex finally broke away from their heated kiss after hearing Max the second time. They were about to address him when his arm swung wildly to the side to find something to balance himself, hitting the notorious lamp.

CRASH!

Justin and Alex winced and hunched their shoulders upwards at the sound. Max's eyes were now open, looking at the shattered mess before him. "Oh, no."

"That better not be what I think it is?" They all heard their mother yell, her voice growing louder with each word as she was approaching. She reached the archway near the living room and saw her youngest staring sheepishly at her with her broken lamp at his feet. The other two were merely looking at Max, still tangled up from whatever they were previously doing (she rather not think about that one).

"Not again," She complained, placing her hand on her forehead, silently counting to ten in her head in an attempt to calm herself down. She had lost count on how many times that light had been broken. Maybe she should just move the darn thing somewhere else where it would be less prone to falling.

"Pick up the pieces and put them back together tomorrow, Maxy," She told him tiredly. "And then all of you go to bed, since you all start up school again tomorrow. You need your sleep."

The kids all nodded their heads as Theresa walked back to the study where her and Jerry were doing some paperwork for the shop, well she was, Jerry was watching the baseball game.

Max got the broom and dustpan and started to sweep up the mess. Justin and Alex climbed the stairs to go to their rooms.

The couple shared a goodnight kiss, and was about to part and go to their own bedrooms, when Alex pulled at Justin's wrist.

"What?" He questioned softly.

"Stay with me tonight," She told him, sticking out her bottom lip, already going the extra mile to persuade him.

"You know I can't," He told her, tucking some of her hair behind her ears. "You know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah, can't be in each other's room without the door open and never at night, blah blah blah!" She rudely said, mocking the very few rules they were given when their parents found out about them. The only other rule they were given was to avoid major PDA in the presence of others, but they were even given time to themselves, like that night, for just that.

"It's just that since everyone found out, you haven't slept with me," She told him, still pouting.

"Alex, every time we know we'll be alone for an efficient amount of time we're in our rooms-"

"Not in that way, egg head!" Alex exclaimed, cutting him off, slapping him playfully on the chest, but she giggled none-the-less. "I just meant in the innocent way; literally sleeping with each other. I miss using you as a pillow," She expressed shyly, stepping into his arms to rest her head on his chest.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "I know," He told her, kissing the top of her head, "but I don't want to take advantage of Mom and Dad's trust. We are already really lucky that they are as accepting as they are."

She nodded her head sadly at his words, but she knew he was right. Why was he always so right? It was annoying.

They shared another soft goodnight kiss before retiring to their designated rooms. Tomorrow was the first day of Alex's senior year of high school and Justin's freshman year of college. And this start of the school year was definitely going to be one they would never forget.

* * *

**A/N: **It's the sequel! yay! And I know it's short, but I just wanted to start it off by showing their home life first. I do have some interesting ideas for this story. So, PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you'd like to see or just ramble about anything! haha! :)

**Next Chapter:** The siblings get some news and some drama starts brewing…


	2. Chapter 2

Alex sat at the kitchen table, absentmindedly twiddling her pencil between her fingers. She was doing homework (yes the evil teachers gave homework on the first day), or at least trying to, but honestly if you don't pay attention in class everything might as well be in another language. She was only attempting because Justin said that if she didn't do well this year, he wasn't going to get that apartment for them like they had been talking about for the whole summer. Darn him and his conniving ways. Where'd he learn that from anyway?

Just then, the front door opened up and Justin walked through. He carefully laid his overstuffed school bag to the floor. He lifted his head and their eyes met instantly. He smiled at her as he advanced to the table. "Hello," He greeted her, taking her hands and pulling at them to make her stand up. He gave her a sweet peck on the lips and then observed the papers on the table. "_You're_ doing _homework_?"

"Hardy, har, har," She sarcastically laughed. She crossed her arms in-front of her chest. "You said I had to do good this year, so, I'm trying," She told him quietly.

He beamed at her, liking the fact that maybe some responsibility was finally settling in on Alex. He untangled her arms and made them encircle his waist. "How was your first day, senior?"

She snorted. "Just like other school days… suck-y," She quipped. "And don't call me senior again, it makes me sound like an ancient person, like mom and dad," She continued. Justin laughed at her logic. He missed her. He missed being able to catch a glimpse of her between classes. The ability to steal a kiss or two when no one was looking. It wasn't the same.

"And hey, you're a freshman again!" She pointed out, laughing at him. "Did someone want to beat up your nerd butt?" She asked, sticking her tongue out at him.

He rolled his eyes at her. "No," He told her pointedly, "no one tried to beat me up. Everyone was rather nice."

Alex shrugged. "Maybe because you don't look like a nerd; you have too much muscle to look like one on the outside," She observed, taking one hand to feel up his bicep. "It's when you talk are you then labeled a nerd."

"College is different," Justin merely said.

Suddenly Alex's eyes brightened, "I just realized I'm dating a college guy! That's hot," She said, wiggling her eyebrows at him as she smashed her chest against his.

"Oh, is it?" Justin jokingly asked, before shortly capturing his lips with hers.

"Hey, guys!" Max exclaimed, bounding up the steel stairs as he tried to gain his siblings' attention, knowing they would both be home by now. "A telegram from the wizard world came!" He reached the landing and immediately shrieked at the sight of his brother and sister making out. "Ahhh! A warning would have been nice!" He shouted, using the paper he had in his hands as a shield for his eyes.

"Oh, grow up," Justin said, snatching the telegram from his brother. He opened it up and started to read it.

"What's it say?" Alex asked, intertwining their arms and resting her head on his shoulder as she waited for his response.

"It's a letter about our wizard competition," Justin stated, throwing the paper onto the kitchen table. "They were just telling us that we only have three months left…"

"Three months!" Alex exclaimed, grabbing the back of the chair to steady herself. "I'm not going to be ready in three months! You'd be lucky if I would be ready in three years!"

"Does it really matter though?" Justin questioned her. "I mean, I'm ready, and only one of the two of us need to win so we can keep our powers. And of course if either of us were to lose for some reason, Max would give us his powers."

Alex calmed at Justin's explanation.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Max interjected. "Who said I was giving you guys the powers if I won?"

"But-" Justin started, pausing briefly to gather his thoughts. "Max, Alex and I _need_ the powers in order to be together; it would be the easiest way for us. If we don't get the powers, the wizard world can't help us and we can't get married, which would make it impossible for us to have anything normal married couples generally have!" Justin argued.

"It's not my fault you two started liking each other. I want the powers just as much as you! I shouldn't have to give it up just because it helps your weird case!"

How could Max be saying any of this? They didn't ask much of him and this was important!

"What's going on up here?" Jerry asked, coming up the stairs clad in one of the store's aprons. He heard some commotion echoing down the staircase as he passed by, and decided to see what his children were yelling at each other about now.

"Max said he isn't going to give me and Alex the powers if he wins the competition," Justin informs him.

"Is this true, Max?" Jerry asked, turning his head to his youngest, genuinely surprised by the news. Max nodded his head, too angry to properly communicate with his father without the urge to yell.

"Why are you being so selfish?" Justin hollered, his face was turning red from the anger fizzling under his skin.

"Why are you?" Max retorted. Justin was caught off guard and was rendered speechless. Were they really being selfish? "Yeah, that's what I thought!" Max stated bitterly. He went to the front door, closing it violently behind him.

They all winced as the sound of the door echoed throughout the room.

Jerry turned to his remaining kids sympathetically. "Just give him some time. He might change his mind." He gave them a tight smile, trying to reassure them, before heading back down to the substation to continue working.

This couldn't be good.

* * *

**A/N: **So…how was it? I know it was another short-ish chapter, but I promise the next one is longer. So** PLEASE REVIEW! **Reviews make me happy and make me want to update soon! =D**  
**

**Also, I updated my other story 'Moving On' so check that out too. :)

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**CaughtThyself: **HEYY! Glad to see you are excited about this. And thanks for also reading the other story and reviewing for this one!

**Not Just a Nerd: **Thank for reviewing, buddy!

**MaybeSomeone: **Yeah, I finally posted a sequel. I felt like I wanted to show a little of what happens next for them. Thanks for reviewing!

**DaColumbianSmurf: **Thanks for the congratz on 'Baby, it's Fact'. Glad to see you are liking the sequel so far too. Thanks for reviewing!

**Xxvannyz: **They will def be a little more action, of course not too much since it's T, but yeah. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Superbatnerdxx: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Wd0: **I always wondered why Theresa just didn't move it by now. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**WickedSweet123: **Thanks for reviewing!

**xCuckooBananas: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Inthis4kicks: **Glad to see you are liking it so far! Thanks for reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

Justin and Alex decided to wait a couple days until they tried to talk to Max again, trying to allow him to fully diffuse his bitterness. Thursday morning came and the tension was still very heavy in the air. Max refused to look at Alex or Justin in the eye, and their attempts to make small talk with him were futile as well. Max practically inhaled his food and fled the room as quickly as he could to start walking to school.

Justin and Alex both sighed as they got up to head to school also.

…

Alex waited impatiently at the kitchen table, waiting for Justin to come home. Max still refused to talk to her during school or even a moment ago when she tried again. He just grunted something inaudible and bounded up the stairs to his room without another sound.

Max usually never held a grunge on any of them for too long. He was too absentminded to remember to stay mad or why he was even angry in the first place, so for him to still not be talking to them was extremely rare and it was worrying Alex greatly.

Her nails tapped on the wood of the table, watching the clock tick by minute after minute. She was waiting for Justin to get home, but it seemed to be taking him decades. Luckily, at that next moment, Justin walked through the door and Alex immediately ran to his side.

He hadn't even put both of his feet in the door when she came up him to him. "He's still not talking," She told him worriedly. Justin bit his lip. He didn't know what to make of the situation any more. They were all hoping it would blow over by now, but it must have been wishful thinking. Justin put his arm around Alex's shoulders and started to rub them, trying to comfort her.

"Justin, what are we going to do?" Alex asked him. She couldn't believe Max would do this to them. "He seems serious about this."

Justin reached out to hold her hands firmly in his. He looked straight into her eyes. "We're going to make sure we win. It's two against one, we've got this. Don't worry too much." Alex tried to smile, but she still had her doubts. Their happy ending wasn't guaranteed anymore.

"I have to start my readings and you should probably do your homework." He kissed her tenderly on the forehead. She closed her eyes at his touch, but then frowned when he pulled away. She was hoping to spend some time with him, but that didn't look like it was happening at the moment.

"We'll get through this, just like everything else," Justin assured her, giving her a small smile before disappearing up the stairs.

…

Justin sat at his desk, reading a long torturous chapter in one of his textbooks, highlighting and then making notes in a separate notebook that was laid out on his desk. The words from each sentence, page, and book seemed to fuse together. Literary terms from his English course were mixing in with the medical terms from one of his medical classes. He couldn't concentrate and absorb what he was reading with the Max dilemma at hand.

He felt so much weight being weighed down on his shoulders. He had to do numerous amount of work for his classes (his professors definitely weren't making it easy), while also trying to keep the upper hand in the wizard competition. And, with the way things were working out with Max, it didn't look like Max was taking back what he said. Max was in it to win it, and keep the powers if he did. Justin couldn't let his brother win.

Justin closed the book in frustration and threw it lightly onto his desk. He closed his eyes and started to rub his temple to ease some of the stress.

A few moments later, he suddenly felt smooth hands slip under the cut of his shirt, starting to rub at his chest gently. He jumped slightly in his chair at first, but then sighed contently at her contact. It was Alex, of course.

"You seemed tense," She whispered into his ear as she continued to move her hands along the contours of his chest. "You alright?"

"Yes," He told her, opening his eyes and turning his head to look at her. He gave her a genuine smile and leaned in for a kiss. He didn't want to let her know he was freaking out about Max on the inside because then, in return, Alex would freak out even more. "So, what are you doing in here?" He asked her after they parted.

"Mom wanted me to tell you that it's dinner."

Justin nodded at her words and got up from his seat.

They linked hands as they exited Justin's room. However, when they approached the stairs, they heard Max and their parents' voices being carried up the staircase in quick hushed tones. They were obviously talking about them and what Max said Monday afternoon after the first day of school. Their parents were trying to reason with him, since he obviously wasn't talking to Justin or Alex.

"I'm sick of not being taken seriously around here," They heard Max say. His voice was superior, nothing like how he usually spoke. Their parents seemed to give up trying to talk to Max, since their voices could no longer be heard. The resolution in Max's voice was apparent; there was no way to change his mind on the matter. "Now, can I please have the peas? I plan to make some killer snot rocket ammo out of them."

…

After being pelted all dinner long by snot cover peas-courtesy of Max-Justin couldn't wait to go back to his room, even though it meant he had to keep studying.

After washing up the dishes like the good son he was, he entered his room fully prepared to hit the books. He still had 50 pages to read in one of his textbooks, the work that went along with the chapter, and a small paper. However, as he stalked over to his desk, he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Alex lying leisurely on his bed.

"Hey," She said shortly, looking at him expectantly.

Justin's mouth involuntarily raised into a smile. "Hey," He responded back as he took a seat next to her on his bed. "What are you doing in here?"

She used her one hand to push his chest down until he was lying down next to her. "I wanted to spend some time with you," She told him as she cuddled up next to him and kissed him softly on the mouth. She felt like she had barely seen him the past couple days because they were either in school or he was doing something in his room for school (And he couldn't be interrupted!). Just another reason to hate the stupid educational penitentiary.

"I have a lot of work to do though," He admitted, trying to make a movement to get up, but Alex pushed him back down. "Just for a little bit; like 30 minutes?" She pleaded.

He looked at her and then to his desk. Of course he wanted to be with Alex, but if he failed his classes that didn't leave much of a future for them either. Alex could see the conflict he had written on his face so she positioned her mouth onto his ear lobe; sucking at it and biting it lightly, knowing that it was his weak spot.

He groaned at the sensation and, in one fast movement, pinned her down onto the bed. He began kissing her in a needy way, letting his hand slip under her shirt to grace the skin of her stomach. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he could feel his hair being tugged in different directions from her hands roaming through it wildly.

It felt so _good_. They haven't gotten this intimate all week, and after all the stress that they both have been going through this week, it felt good to escape from it like this.

They knew they couldn't do anything too drastic with their parents right downstairs, but at the moment it was all they needed.

When air became a dire necessity, they pulled apart, letting their foreheads lean against each other as they panted and gasped. Justin draped his arm over her frame, pulling her the closest he could get her. Alex snuggled deeper into his chest, her hand absentmindedly playing with the crop of his shirt.

"Harper is going to see Zeke at his new apartment this weekend. She wanted to know if we wanted to come with," Alex told Justin.

"Yeah sure, that sounds like fun. Zeke was actually talking to me about that. His place sounds really nice. Apparently his parents didn't want him to get distracted by living on campus, so they rented this place for him near the school," Justin commented, his eyes starting to droop as the warmness of their embrace overtook him.

"I just think they didn't want to hear anymore of his clogging," Alex commented lightly, and they both chuckled tiredly.

Eventually, they both fell asleep.

…

Justin's eyes groggily opened a few hours later; the first thing he saw was Alex's face so comfortable and content in his arms. Half-awake, he smiled to himself, fully intending on closing his eyes to sleep more, but curiosity let his eyes wander to his alarm clock, which read one o'clock in the morning.

Justin bolted up from his bed, jostling Alex awake. Justin cursed under his breath as he began to pull open his book and other assignments. His first class was at nine in the morning and he needed to get the rest of his work done. He didn't think he had been asleep that long and he couldn't help but wish he hadn't let Alex persuade him to lie down.

"What's-what's going on?" Alex mumbled as she sat up from the bed, rubbing her eyes to get more awake.

Justin shot her a glance as he read his book. "Just go to your room, Alex," He said harshly. He was beyond grumpy and annoyed, and talking to her right now felt like he was going to go through the roof in anger.

Alex saw that he was upset, and for once, didn't push him. She quietly exited his room, whispering a good night, before she shut the door.

…

The next morning as Alex descended the stairs, she saw Justin pouring himself a cup of coffee and downing it black. She made a gagging noise as she stood next to him, pouring herself some coffee. "How can you drink it like that? That's nasty!"

He glared at her. "It's the only way I can stay awake right now," He sneered. "I didn't get done my work until five." It was seven currently, meaning he never went back to bed, since that's when he usually woke up on weekdays.

"Justin, a lot of people in college don't do their assignments. I don't understand why you had to make such a big fuss over it," She said. "Wasn't it just some reading and worksheets and stuff?"

Something ticked in Justin's brain. "It doesn't matter what the assignments were, Alex? If you don't do one assignment then it leads to not doing another and then another! I like to keep on top of things. I like to be prepared and responsible! I know those things are foreign concepts to you, but to me they mean _everything_!" He seethed, his chest was heaving from shouting.

Alex stood there dumbstruck. She didn't think he would still be so touchy about it. She swallowed down any tears that were brimming. "Sorry," She croaked.

"Just leave me alone," He shouted, and then left the kitchen to go downstairs to the subshop.

…

After handing in his assignments, Justin felt all the pressure from the night before and that morning dissolve. However, he began to become greatly distressed over how he treated Alex. He felt so guilty now for yelling at her like he did. She didn't mean it, and he knows she didn't mean it or intend for it to happen like it did.

He walked hurriedly from the bus stop to their house, and fully planned to embrace her and apologize over and over again for his despicable behavior.

He opened the door, her name already ready to leave his lips, but she wasn't at the table waiting for him like she normally did. She was always there waiting for him. He frowned deeply. Was she really that upset?

He walked up the stairs, and when he neared her room he could hear music playing. He knocked on the door softly, but he got no answer. He then knocked again, but louder, in case she didn't hear him the first time, but again, no answer. He sighed. "Alex, open up!" He yelled through the door. "I'm sorry!"

Still no answer.

He was going to try and open the door, but decided that that wouldn't be the smartest thing if she wasn't in the mood. The last time he did that when she was really upset, he ended up getting stung in the stomach by the "stun gun" wand app she purchased. And don't even ask him why she purchased it. He didn't know and frankly didn't want to know either.

"Alex," He called, banging his fist onto the door. "Please forgive me. I'm sorry! I know I was a jerk this morning and I shouldn't have been. It wasn't your fault," He pleaded through the door.

Silence.

He let his head fall onto the wood of the door, his forehead resting on it. "Please open the door, Alex." He beseeched her. "I'll get on my knees if I have to," He continued. Still no word. He quickly got down on his knees, clapping his hands together, fully ready to kiss her feet if it called for it. "I'm on my knees here, Alex. Please forgive me."

"I forgive you, egghead," She said from behind him and giggled at the flabbergasted face Justin was wearing when he turned his head around.

"But-I-weren't you-I thought you were in your room!" Justin commented, getting up to his feet to face Alex fully.

"I was in the bathroom when I heard you and I wanted to see how far you would go before you cried. You were getting there," She teased, poking him in the chest.

He smiled at her, not even bothering to start a fight about her jab at his masculinity. He grabbed her and embraced her warmly in a strong hug. "I'm sorry," he told her sincerely. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad. It wasn't your fault. I was just trying to blame someone, but myself."

"It's alright," She told him softly. They both leaned back in the embrace to look at each other. "I know you're stressed with everything going on."

"I wanna make it up to you," Justin said to her, taking a hand to caress her cheek. "I'll do anything."

Her eyes gleamed with mischief and he suddenly regretted his words.

"How about we just finish what we started last night?" She suggested, wiggling her eyebrows at him. She lurched her body forwards so that their lower regions grinded against each other.

Justin bit back a groan. "Everyone is home," He stated quietly and breathlessly.

"Max is spending the weekend at his friend's house. He's probably trying to stay away from us, but whatever. And Dad is taking out Mom for some dinner date or something tonight," She replied, smiling broadly.

"Why do I feel like you planned this?" Justin asked, smirking down at her figure.

"Well, I didn't plan for Max, but I might have subtlety hinted to Mom that it's weird that Dad never takes her out…"

Justin laughed at her antics, but never-the-less placed a delicate kiss on her lips. That was his Alex.

* * *

**A/N**: So, first off, let me say sorry for having you guys wait so long! I've been swamped with school work and I also wanted to finish 'Moving On' (which I did) so starting this week I'll be able to write a lot more and hopefully I'll be updating a lot more. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter! **PLEASE REVIEW**! :)

**Sidenote: Not Just a Nerd and I just wanted to let you all know that we're trying to get something trending on twitter and were hoping you would participate just for the fun of it. XD The trend is #shirtlessdavidhenrie

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Jelsi4ev**: Glad you enjoy it so far! Thanks for reviewing!

**NadineIsAwesome**: Well, Nadine, you are awesome! Haha! I'm so glad you loved "Baby, It's Fact" and are so far loving this story. I loved your review and thank you so much for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Oh haha! Max better watch his back for you then. XD But Max is just kinda bitter right now. And don't worry about rambling! Lol! I love people who ramble. Thanks for reviewing!

**Strawberrydarhling: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Not Just a Nerd: **Aw, hope this chapter wasn't too long for you then. :P I actually think Max might feel this way, but of course there is always a reason behind something. Lol. Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**DaColombianSmurf: **Glad you are enjoying it so far and thanks for reviewing!

**Monkeylover216: **Max is just feeling bitter right now. I mean, if you had wizard powers, and had the opportunity to keep them forever, wouldn't you want to keep them? Thanks for reviewing!

**Dontcallmesweetie: **Thank you. :) Thanks for reviewing too!

**Unknown: **Thanks for reviewing!

**CaughtThyself: **When I wrote the college guy line, I totally saw Alex saying it too. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**xCuckooBananas: **Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!

**Superbatnerdxx: **I love intense chapters! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

Justin wrapped his knuckles on the apartment door with Alex and Harper standing beside him. They were visiting Zeke and viewing his new apartment today.

The door swung open and Zeke animatedly welcomed them all inside.

As Zeke shut the door behind him, the gang stood comfortably in his living room. He had already decorated the place with various Sci-Fi posters and nit knacks. It was definitely Zeke's apartment- no one could mistake that.

"So glad you guys could come," Zeke said, giving his girlfriend a hug and Justin a handshake. He stopped at Alex, falling short on what to do – they weren't exactly close. He opted for a friendly smile. He then turned to Harper, and in a lower tone asked her why Alex was even there. He was just as bad as Jerry was at his side comments.

"Well…" Harper started. "She's your girlfriend's best friend and your best friend's girl-" She froze as she realized what she was about to say and both Justin and Alex's eyes went wide in fear. Zeke still had no clue about them being together. "…sibling, you know, sister," Harper saved, chuckling nervously under her breath now. Justin and Alex sighed in relief.

"I know it must be so dandy talking about me when I'm right here, but I'd much rather see the apartment and eat the pizza that was promised," Alex said, trying to get as far away from this situation as possible.

"Alex," Justin said sternly, but she rolled her eyes at him.

"What? I want to see his place and I'm hungry," She complained. Zeke nodded his head, starting to go down the hall to show off the first room.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Justin asked her when Zeke went out of sight. She winked at him, while softly slapping his butt, before following Zeke and Harper down the hall. Justin smirked and then followed everyone's lead.

…

They had now gone full circle in the apartment, leading back to the living room, which, just like the Russo's loft, was shared with the kitchen.

"Where's the food?" Alex asked once they stepped into the kitchen. Zeke pointed over to a countertop over in the corner. Alex diligently walked over to the area and stole a slice of pizza. Harper followed her.

"_So_? How do you like it?" Zeke asked Justin as they watched both the girls converse and eat in the kitchen.

"Really great, Zeke," Justin answered back. "You've got a lot of room. You going to get a roommate? You have an extra bedroom."

"Probably not," Zeke admitted, "but, if you wanted to move in, I wouldn't mind. I mean this could be like your bachelor pad!"

Alex snorted from across the room. "Yeah, and what normal girl would come here with all the robots, space junk, and dolls?"

"Action figures," Zeke and Justin both proclaimed. Alex waved her hand carelessly at them.

"Anyways, so you're saying that you're not normal, Alex?" Justin inquired, his lips forming into a knowing smirk. "Because you're here."

"I'm a freakin' wizard! Of course I'm not normal, but I've also been corrupted by my dorky brother for my whole life, so it really doesn't have much of an effect on me," She answered back, sticking her tongue out at him childishly.

They had told Zeke about them being wizards over the summer, after one of Alex's "jokes" went a little too far, so Zeke nodded along with Alex's statement. But Justin shook his head with a small smile. The truth was that as much as Alex spent time making fun of all the "dorky" things, she actually liked it, well, she liked it when he was being a dork. Something about him being "adorkable" and it being a "_big_ turn on" for her…

"But Justin, you've got to start playing the field, going on dates," Zeke commented , breaking Justin out of his thoughts. "I mean, how long have you been single? You need to find a girl, my friend."

Justin, Alex, and Harper all wanted to laugh at poor Zeke, but it wasn't his fault he was so out of the loop. They hadn't told him about Justin and Alex, obviously, especially since he was still adapting to the knowledge of them being wizards, but it was a stepping stone.

"I'm fine," Justin insisted. "I mean, not even a full year ago I was dating that Stephanie girl, remember?" Justin said, sitting down on a chair that was part of the kitchen table set.

"Ohh yeahh…" Zeke said remembering her vaguely. "The one that you randomly stopped seeing all of a sudden. She was kinda annoying," Zeke commented.

Justin glanced over at Alex and could tell she was biting back a remark, since she _was_ Stephanie. "Yeah, she _was_ kinda annoying after awhile," Justin agreed with Zeke, knowing it would further rile up Alex. She glared at him and he had to suppress the urge to laugh at her.

"But thanks anyway," Justin said politely, "but being home is where I need to be right now," He said, looking directly at Alex as he said this. She gave him a small smile, but quickly erased it from her face to keep up her front.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, bro, my door is always open," Zeke told his best friend, slapping a hand on Justin's back. He then walked over to where the girls were, grabbing a slice of pizza for himself.

"Me and Harper are going to go out on the balcony to talk, we'll be back shortly," Zeke told the Russo siblings. They nodded their heads, knowing the couple needed time to themselves.

As Harper and Zeke stepped out onto his balcony, Justin walked over to the pizza to finally get his share.

"So, Stephanie was annoying…how come?" Alex asked. She walked right beside him as he fetched his piece of pizza.

He turned to Alex with a cocky smile. "She was kinda pretending to be someone she wasn't," He said, and then laughed at his own joke. Alex rolled her eyes, but giggled none-the-less. "But I did end up falling madly in love with the person she really was," He then commented, looking at Alex with loving eyes.

Alex wrinkled her nose. "Don't get all fluffy on me, commander dork," She complained, but placed a short kiss onto Justin's lips. They stayed millimeters apart, carefully laying small kisses on each other, but not wanting to get too intimate, in fear Zeke could come back inside moments later.

She broke away eventually, stealing Justin's slice right off his plate in the process. "Mhmm…so good," She commented as she bit into it, trying to stealthily walk away from him.

Justin mocked surprise. "Oh, it better be!" He hollered playfully as he went to chase her and Alex took off running, giggling as she did.

…

It was now Sunday afternoon, and Justin and Alex were cuddled up on the couch watching TV quietly. Justin had his arm draped over her shoulders, rubbing them absentmindedly. Alex took Justin's hand in hers to interlace their fingers. She then used her other hand to trace the weaves of their connected hands.

"Can you believe that in just a few short weeks it'll be our 6th month anniversary?" Alex commented softly moments later. Her gaze was still transfixed on their hands.

Justin lifted the hands to his lips so he could kiss the back of Alex's hand tenderly. Alex followed his movements, now making eye contact with him.

"No, I can't believe it. It doesn't feel like it's been that long, but they've been the best months of my life," Justin expressed, looking deeply into the chocolate pool that was Alex's eyes.

"Mine too," Alex breathed wholeheartedly, moving in closely to kiss Justin. She pressed her lips delicately against his, but soon parted her lips and poked her tongue against Justin's lips, wanting to deepen it. However, Justin broke the kiss.

He looked at his sister quizzically, raising his eyebrow at her. "Really? No telling me that I'm mushy or that I sound like a Nicholas Sparks book?" He asked, chuckling lightly. He even went as far as to check her forehead for signs of a fever. "You still look like my girlfriend," He teased.

Alex rolled her eyes, swatting away his hand from further investigation for an illness. "I can be a regular, mushy teenage girl when I want to," She insisted. And really, she loved the mushy stuff, she thought it was adorable in a way, but to go around saying corny things all the time would ruin her non-emotion image. Plus, messing with Justin was a lot more fun than giving him Eskimo kisses and calling him pet names, unless it was of the teasing variation. "_So_, stop being a dork, and kiss me!"

He complied.

His one hand moved to the middle of her back as the other one rested at her hip. Alex tangled her arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until their chests were touching. Alex broke the kiss. "I want to do something special for our 6th anniversary. Like actually celebrate it," She admitted against his lips and then continued kissing him.

"Why?" Justin breathed out in-between kisses.

Alex broke the kiss again, leaning her head against his, letting their noses brush. "It's a landmark for relationships. It means we survived half a year without killing each other," She spoke, smiling toothily down at him.

"Well, if that's what you want, that's what we'll do," Justin told her, reaching up to kiss the point of her nose. She scrunched up her face from the tingling feeling, but blushed lightly. The way he treated her and touched her always made her feel so girly, and vulnerable, but she loved it. "I just thought you hated the whole anniversary celebration thing."

"I do when naïve idiots are professing their love and celebrating it _every. freakin'. week_," She explained pointedly, which the stupid classmates she was friends with on _Facebook_ had the tendency to do.

Justin chuckled, but nodded to her explanation. Those types of people were definitely annoying. You didn't need to celebrate every week together. Just being together was all that mattered.

He brought her into his embrace, hugging her tightly, burying his face in her dark locks. He loved the way her hair felt and smelt. He would be completely content to never leaving this position ever again. He nipped her neck lightly, and then kissed it.

This weekend had been heaven after a week of hell. Unfortunately, he didn't think the upcoming week would be any different. But he had to keep reminding himself that it was all going to be worth it in the end. That everything he was doing was to make sure his future, wizard or not, would be alright. That it would be secured. That he and Alex could live comfortably, happily and forever.

* * *

**A/N: **Heyy! Long time, no update! Ekk, I'm bad I know. I've been in a major writer's block for this story. The next chapter is killing me with what to do. I know this chapter was a bit of a filler, but it's still important. So PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know that you're still reading! Lol! It might motivate for the next chapter! Even bother me on Twitter if you have to. :)

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Baku Babe: **haha, yeah, Justin was a bit of a jerk, but he knows he was. Thanks for reviewing!

**NadineIsAwesome: **Hope you're still reading after such a long break! Lol! Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **We'll be hearing more about Max next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**DaColombianSmurf: **I don't know how you can work in a grave yard! O_O I'm getting chills just thinking about it. Lol. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Silverphoenix: **I know, I feel really sorry for Max too. Some people are saying that he's in the wrong, but if anything, I think it makes sense. I don't know. Thanks for reviewing though!

**Not Just a Nerd: **haha, I didn't realize I was making these Russo boys mad. Drama! I always thought a begging Justin would fit his character perfectly. Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**Dolpher: **Wow, thanks for reading the Prequel and this story! I'm glad you're liking it so far. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Thanks for reviewing!

**CaughtThyself: **I just had to get Max more like himself. I could so see him asking for respect just to do something stupid like make a pea launcher. XD And I don't think he was really OOC, but we never see a mad Max, so you can't really say he wouldn't act that way. Anyway, lol, thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **I don't think Max is trying to be heartless, but more-or-less, he's trying to prove to himself something. You'll see in later chapters what I'm talking about, and it'll explain Max's behavior better. Glad you liked last chapter and thanks for reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

M O N D A Y

Alex sat over her math homework with a glare. _When did they start putting letters in these problems?_ She let out a frustrated sigh, while rubbing her forehead in an attempt to clear her mind enough to finish the torturous work.

"X equals 46," She heard someone whisper behind her. She jumped up in her seat as her spine chilled. She looked over at the perpetrator and saw Justin laughing at her softly.

"What _the hell_!" She screamed, slapping him playfully on the arm as he continued to laugh. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry," He said in-between laughs, swiftly taking a seat adjacent from her. "I didn't mean to scare you." He took her hand from across the table and linked it with one of his own. "Just thought I'd help."

At his touch, her mood immediately went tranquil. She gazed over at him and couldn't help but smile. "You'd be an even bigger help if you did my work for me," She said teasingly, broadening her smile even more.

"Don't think so…I have enough of my own work," He said, his voice dripping lightly with sadness. He then squeezed her hand affectionately.

Alex nodded her head, already knowing he was going to reject her idea, but you can't blame a girl for trying. She then realized she never heard Justin come home, and that it was still very early. "Wait, when did you come home? I didn't hear you come in," Alex said. There was _no way_ she had gotten too focused in her work to not hear him. That was even more impossible then her actually doing the work.

"I might have…popped in," He said sheepishly. Alex whacked him again in the arm. "Oww! What was that for?" Justin complained, rubbing the spot she hit. _It might even bruise!_

"Why can't you just 'pop in' every day? That would give us like 30 minutes of time together we don't normally have!" She pointed out.

Justin rolled his eyes. "You know I don't like using magic like that. I just used it today because I missed the bus and the next one wasn't coming for another couple hours. I needed to get home so my work schedule wouldn't get screwed up."

Alex bit back a remark, knowing if she spoke the words whirling in her mind, they'd end up in another fight and the stress from it would not help either of them. "Right," She said tightly, "well, you better get to your work then."

Justin nodded, hesitantly giving her a quick peck on the top of her head before he dashed up the staircase to his room.

As she watched him retreat, she still couldn't help but think: He'll bend his own rules for work, but why not for me?

…

T U E S D A Y

Justin opened the door in a frenzy. He rushed over to where Alex was sitting, gave her a small kiss on the lips, and rushed up the stairs all before Alex could open her mouth to greet him.

He felt guilt itch at his insides as he ran up the staircase, leaving a surely very confused Alex below, but he had lot of work to get to. He probably shouldn't have taken as many classes as he did- something he didn't even tell Alex- but he wanted to get through the meaningless classes fast and start medical school as quickly as possible.

Reaching the top of the staircase, Justin bumped into Max, who was carrying a small box. The box fumbled out of Max's grasp and fell to the floor. Only a banana peel fell out of it though.

As Max picked the box back up, Justin picked up the lone peel, holding it by his fingertips. "Here's…this…" Justin said to his younger brother, plopping it in the top of the box. "What else is in there?" He asked curiously, but Max turned the box away from Justin's sight and walked briskly down the stairs without a word.

Justin sighed. Max still wasn't talking to him.

Deciding to not dwell on Max, Justin continued his way to his room. He dragged his book-bag to his desk and emptied it of its contents, placing everything he needed before him. He then vamped up his computer, so he could use it for the paper he had to soon write.

It was going to be another long day.

…

W E D N E S D A Y

Alex sat at the kitchen table with Harper at her side. They were brewing over the main spell book from the lair. Alex was trying to learn some more spells that might be useful for the competition and, since Harper helped Alex the one time with spell memorization, Alex asked her again for help.

And so far, it was working. Like any normal teenager, Alex knew the lyrics of her favorite songs by heart, rather than the notes for her history test or the phrases for the spells, so Harper arranged for many of spells to be made into mini songs. So far, Alex had achieved in learning ten news spells that day.

Alex couldn't wait for Justin to come home, so she could tell him.

Just then, Alex heard the front door open and she turned her head to beam at her boyfriend. He gave her a tired smile back, kissing her lightly on the lips. But before Alex could open her mouth to tell him the good news, he had quickly gone up the stairs like he did the previous day.

Alex sat back in her chair defeated. She frowned heavily at his behavior. She sighed, knowing he was just overloaded with work.

She turned to Harper, who watched the whole exchange with a curious look. "He's just really busy with schoolwork," Alex said, reading the question right off her best friend's lips.

Harper nodded, starting to flip the pages in the spell book for spells she thought could be useful for Alex to learn.

"Does Zeke spend this much time on school work?" Harper heard Alex quietly ask. She looked up from the giant book to the brunette. Alex was staring at her hands, her teeth biting gently into her lip in worry.

"No," Harper answered honestly, "but he just might be taking harder classes than Zeke," She then said, in hope it would make Alex feel a little better.

"Yeah, maybe…" Alex answered. She then changed her demeanor to one of nonchalance. "Let's learn more spells, huh?" She insisted, taking the spell book from Harper to look in it herself.

"He looked tired too," Harper randomly said, saying her thoughts out loud. Alex looked at the red heat with a confused expression. "Justin," Harper clarified, "he looked really tired. Didn't you notice the light bags under his eyes?"

…

T H U R S D A Y

He knew he looked like a mess. One look in the mirror showed that he had bags under his eyes. His face had thinned slightly because he wasn't eating as much as he usually ate. Alex pointed this all to him the night before as they were giving each other a good night kiss. He didn't quite believe it until he forced himself to look into the bathroom mirror.

It wasn't severe, but it was enough to make it noticeable. Next semester he was definitely not taking as many classes. If he kept going at this rate, he'd kill himself before he could graduate college.

Justin happily sighed as he finished up the last of his work for the night.

He stood up from his desk chair, stretching so his body wouldn't be so stiff from the position it had been placed in for the past couple hours.

He then walked over to his bed where he left his wand. He lifted it up and flashed himself to the wizards gym. It wasn't exactly like the gyms in the mortal realm, even though they did have those equipment present, it was used more for practicing spells in a controlled environment.

He walked to the room he had reserved. He had the setting turned to show the ruins from the wizard competition. He had been coming here every night for almost two weeks, not stopping his training until he was drenched in sweat and he could no longer mutter any more spells, which was usually after 4 or 5 hours.

He was going to win this competition for him and Alex. No matter what.

…

F R I D A Y

Justin briskly walked through the front door and over to Alex for their customary kiss. However, this time, before he could leave, Alex caught his arm, making him stay.

"What?" He questioned softly. Alex's eyes were slightly pained and her hold on his arm was strong. "Is something wrong?" He continued, cupping her face in his hands.

She waited a moment to compose herself. "I-I hate this kiss-and-dash thing you've been doing lately. And I feel like I never see you," She admitted. Her voice was smaller than she usually let it get. She wrapped her arms around Justin's waist, burying her face into his chest.

Justin sighed as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I told you that during the week it's going to be hard." He kissed the top of her head gently. "The weekends are ours though, I promise."

"It's the weekend now," He heard Alex mumbled against his shirt. He chuckled.

"Weekend is Saturday and Sunday," he told her sadly, and he could hear her make a disappointed noise under her breath. "I would love to be with you more, but I need to do all this work _for_ us. Please understand," He pleaded.

"I understand," She said, stepping away from his arms to look at him properly. "I just don't want you to be hurting yourself," She softly said, taking her hand to gently outline the bags under his eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt myself. This week has just been a tough one," He explained and Alex nodded her head in understanding.

Justin cupped her face with his hands once again. He brought their faces close, their noses touching. He dipped down to capture her lips sweetly. "I love you," He told her sincerely as the kiss ended.

"I love you too," She replied. They broke apart their hold on each other and Justin gestured that he had to leave, so she let him.

Alex watched him go up the stairs with a distressed, distant sadness. Alex didn't know if she could ever get used this.

Just then, Alex heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She looked up, thinking maybe Justin forgot something, but it ended up being Max, carrying random junk on a plate a foot or two high.

She strode over to the bottom of the staircase. "What do you have there, Max?" Alex asked, taking in the plate full of trash with a disgusted glance.

"I'm working on an experiment," Max stated proudly.

Alex snorted. "An experiment? What experiment? What is it?" She asked unbelievably. She could believe if Justin had said this, but coming from Max, it was hard to accept.

"What?" Max suddenly asked.

"What?" Alex said back.

"I don't know the llama's momma!" Max exclaimed.

Alex looked at her brother in disbelief. "We weren't even talking about-you know, whatever," Alex said, starting to walk back to her seat, shaking her head at Max's odd outburst. Then suddenly she realized something. "Wait-" Alex commanded the young boy, who just put his foot on the stairs to go downstairs.

She walked back over to Max. "You talked to me!" She exclaimed and carefully embraced her brother in a tight hug, making sure to not touch the disgusting display he had in his hands.

Max looked side to side in confusion. "Of course I talked to you…why wouldn't I?"

Now it was Alex's turn to look confused. "You were mad at us…" She said to refresh his memory.

"Ohh," He said, realization crossing over his features. "I haven't been mad at you for like a week now…" He confessed, shrugging his shoulders. He turned to go down the stairs, but Alex took his shoulders and made him face her.

"Then why haven't you been talking to us the whole time since?" She inquired.

"I've been busy," He said, lifting up the plate in his hands for further emphasis.

"You've been busy with the experiment?" Alex further questioned.

"What experiment?" Max asked.

"Yours!" She yelled impatiently.

"Mine what?" He further asked.

Alex threw her hands up in frustration. "Nevermind!" She screamed and walked away.

…

S A T U R D A Y

Justin had just gotten back from training. He had accidently fallen asleep while working, so consequently he didn't get done his work until midnight, which was the reason why he was just entering the bathroom at 5 in the morning.

He jumped into the shower, turning the hot water up a couple notches to ease his muscles. Justin could feel his sweat seemingly melt off his body and into the drain as he stood still under the water.

The exhaustion he felt from both the school work and the wizard training had him wiped. The noise of the water spouting from the shower head was soothed him though ,and he found himself closing his eyes, wanting to sleep. His eyes felt heavy, too heavy to open them back up willingly.

He felt himself start to unconsciously lean forward, but it wasn't until his foot slipped did his eyes shoot wide open and his arms reflexively rose to hit the titled wall in-front of him, ultimately saving him from his fall.

His heart was racing and his breathing was heavy as he tried to get over his fear. He quickly shut off the shower, carefully stepping out of it. "Knew showers were dangerous," He mumbled to himself.

He dried himself off quickly and changed into the new pair of clothes he had brought in with him. It would be foolish to go to sleep now, especially since Alex wanted to be together.

Justin threw his dirty clothes into the hamper and made his way out into the dark hallway. He easily found his way to Alex's door though and quietly opened it.

Through the doorway he saw her form under the blankets. Her hair was splayed out across the pillow. Her face was tranquil and peaceful. His lips rose into a smile as he watched her, suddenly realizing all over again why he was putting himself through hell.

He walked over to her bed and slowly laid down next to her, making sure not to wake her. He missed being able to sleep with her in his arms and waking up to her face. He moved his thumb to softly brush over her cheek. He then scooted closer to her and draped his arm over Alex's form.

He could feel himself getting tired again, but before he could close his eyes, he felt her stir under him. "Justin?" She mumbled half-asleep.

"Yeah," He answered, pulling a strand of her hair out of her face so she could see him clearly.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned. She briefly squinted at her alarm clock before continuing. "And why are you here at six in the morning?" She snuggled into his chest then.

"I thought we could start our day together early," He replied, stroking her hair.

"The sun is barely up, Justin! Why should I be?" She whined and Justin laughed quietly at her.

"I want to have breakfast though."

"That can't wait a few more hours?" She asked, her voice getting low again, ready to fall back asleep.

Justin leaned back from his position to look at her. She tiredly opened her eyes at his movement. When she locked her eyes with his, he took her chin in his hand. "No," He answered teasingly and then kissed her fully on the lips.

It took her a few seconds to reciprocate because of her sleepiness, but she eventually did, and when they finally pulled apart, she huffed in annoyance. She was now fully awake and Justin knew she would be after their kiss. "You cheated; unfair," She said pouting, but reluctantly got up from her bed to dress.

Justin grinned cheekily at her. "I'll be downstairs waiting. Don't take too long."

...

Justin had them teleported to a small town in Pennsylvania. They walked down the sidewalk of the town, holding hands, trying to find a place to eat breakfast. They eventually decided on a small little restaurant in the middle of the string of stores.

They were seated by a middle-aged woman with a sweet smile at a quaint table for two. She ran off to the back to get the couple coffee.

Alex and Justin started browsing the menu, trying to figure out what they wanted. Justin quickly decided to get eggs, so he placed his menu down and studied Alex. Her brow was set down in thought as she skimmed from one side of the menu to the other. She quickly looked up, however, when she felt eyes on her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, smiling shyly under his gaze.

"You," He replied simply, never wavering his gaze.

Alex rolled her eyes, but the smile stayed intact on her face. "Well, stop. People are going to think you're a creeper," She insisted, and raised the menu up over her face to hide the fact that she was blushing massively.

"Yes, because I'm sure the whole two other people here would think that," He replied sarcastically. She lowered her menu back down to stick her tongue out at him and then raised it back to continue looking over her choices.

The waitress then came back, both hands holding a cup of coffee. She then took their orders when Alex finally made up her mind.

"So, why did you want to come here?" Alex asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Just to get away from everything," He expressed. He stretched his hand across the table and took hold of her free hand. "Get away from all the stress and drama. For it to just be us for a little while," He responded.

"Good," Alex plainly said, biting back all the sappy things she wanted to say back. Justin could see it her eyes though that she was very thankful for this time they were sharing together. Her eyes always told the whole story, all the words she would hold back.

"So," Justin started, "we know my week was filled with work and more work, but how was yours?" He started rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb as he kept his ears alert to listen.

"It was alright," She said with a shrug. "I did a lot of school work myself and I learned a bunch of new spells that could help us for the competition," She said enthusiastically, her eyes gleaming with happiness and accomplishment.

Justin squeezed her hand in reassurance. "That's great!" He exclaimed back. "I'm very proud of you, I am."

Alex's heart swelled at his words. She didn't normally work hard for anything, but she wanted to impress Justin, make him feel proud of her, so she felt overly happy with pride at the moment.

Swallowing down a sip of her coffee, Alex motioned for Justin's attention. "Before I forget, write this down in your little-dorky-calendar-thingy," She instructed. Justin rolled his eyes, but took out the small planner he kept in his pocket anyway. "I reserved a reservation in LA for dinner two weeks from yesterday at 6 o'clock pacific time," She told him, smiling bashfully.

He smiled back as he penciled in the plans. "I'm looking forward to it then."

The waitress came back with their food in the next moment, putting them in a small comfortable silence as they began to feast.

Halfway through their meal, Alex broke the silence. "Max talked to me yesterday," She said.

Justin stopped his fork mid-way to his mouth and looked over at her. "What-what did he say?"

"It wasn't much of a conversation, but he said he hasn't been mad at us for the past week. That he's just been too busy to talk to either of us because of some experiment he's been doing…" Alex said trailing off.

Justin cocked his eyebrow. Max doing an experiment? It didn't match up, but he pushed that thought to the side. "Did he say anything about the competition?" Justin asked.

"No," Alex said sadly, shaking her head. "I didn't ask him about it."

Justin nodded. "Well, it's a start. Maybe he'll eventually change his mind."

* * *

**A/N: **Alright, so this is a **REALLY LONG chapter**! I was going to break it up into two, but felt that since I suck at updating, I'd give you guys at least something lengthily to read. So **PLEASE REVIEW**! I'm getting less and less reviews and it's really discouraging for me with this story. I almost thought about getting rid of it the other day because my writer's block was so bad. But anyway, let me know what you guys are thinking. The drama is definitely starting if you can tell and Max working on the experiment will def come up later… :)

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Hmmm: ** I really liked when they went to Zeke's too. Haha. Glad you like it so far and thanks for reviewing!

**Tinywalker21: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Emo Goth Chick: **Thanks for your idea; it's actually not that far off with what I was planning. Lol So glad you are liking it and thanks for reviewing. And also, thanks for looking at a lot of my other stories too. :)

**Dulscar: **So glad you liked the prequel as well as this story so far. The begging Justin was def one of my favorite parts. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**NadineIsAwesome: **YAY! I missed your reviews! Haha! My writer's block was so bad, gosh. But today I just gotten worked through it, so yay! Lol! And haha, 6 months is long. It's older than my new puppy too! XD Thanks for reviewing!

**DaColombianSmurf: ** Well I hope the dead don't complain, or I'd really feel creeped out. XD So, I kinda have a vampire reviewer? That's purty cool. Lmao! Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Not Just a Nerd: **I'm blaming you for the lack of writing. :P lol jk. Twitter really didn't help though . XD Yup, the whole zeke & apartment thing will def come back in the story. And yes, the facebook this is def a real life thing. XD Gosh, I have ANOTHER girl doing it on my facebook now! Grr. Haha! Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**TrixieNancy124: ** Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **I like showing Alex out of her element sometimes. Everyone always has there for reviewing!


	6. Chapter 6

"Have a good day at school," Justin told Alex as he gave her sweet kiss goodbye. Alex rolled her eyes as the kiss ended. Seriously, she wasn't him; any day at school wasn't a good day. They then exchanged 'love you's, left the house, and walked their separate ways.

Alex reluctantly took the route to school, knowing that's what Justin would want, and anything that could keep him happy would be welcomed. She soon saw the red hair of her best friend down the street, so she quickened her pace to reach the girl faster.

"Hey, girl-I-haven't-seen-all-weekend," Harper teasingly greeted Alex when the wizard finally caught up. Alex bumped into Harper's shoulder playfully, beaming as she did. "And someone looks _extremely_ happy," Harper then noted. "So, I'm guessing this weekend was good?"

Alex nodded excitedly. "It was perfect, Harper," Alex spilled, her eyes gazing ahead in remembrance. "Saturday, we went out to breakfast and then we found out that there was going to be a carnival in the next town, so we ended up spending the rest of the day at the carnival, going on rides and playing the games at the booth," Alex spoke quickly, reliving each moment to her friend who listened as best as she could. "Then, on Sunday, I made him sleep in -since he woke me up early the day before- but then we went to the movies and later the park where we had a picnic," She continued, then let out a breath of contentment. "It was perfect…"

Harper smiled at Alex. She had never seen the brunette so happy in her life, and even though it was Alex's own brother that was the cause of it, Harper felt it helped justify the fact that they belonged together.

"So, how was your weekend with Zeke?" Alex asked, knowing it was only fair to hear Harper's weekend after she gushed about her own.

"It was fun," Harper started as they continued to walk to school, "but we mainly stayed at his place. I helped decorate more of the apartment. We also watched a movie on Netflix and that's pretty much it. It was simple, yet nice," Harper finished with a shrug.

"Hey," Alex then said as an idea struck her. "How about we skip lunch and go to the university to see the boys?"

Harper looked at Alex with uncertainty. Even though they weren't forbidden to leave school grounds during lunch, it wasn't encouraged, and knowing Alex, they would end up skipping the rest of the day. "I don't know, Alex," Harper worriedly expressed.

"Come on," Alex begged as they entered the school doors and walked to their lockers. "You know you want to see Zeke. I _promise_ we'll be back before lunch is over."

Harper cocked her head to the side as she thought. She did think it would be nice to surprise Zeke at the University, especially since she has yet to see the place. Harper turned back to her friend, who waited impatiently for her answer. "Fine," Harper said giving in and Alex squealed slightly in joy.

…

Justin felt someone lightly prodding at his shoulder, awaking him from his sleep. He slowly raised his head off his crossed arms, taking in his setting. He soon realized he was still in one of his classes and silently cursed himself for falling asleep during the lecture. He turned his head, finally noticing the person who woke him up; a slim blonde that looked to be around Alex's height.

"Can I help you?" Justin asked politely, but still tiredly.

The blonde giggled at his tone, but extended her hand out for Justin to shake. "My name is Melanie," She introduced herself. "The professor just assigned a project that's due next month," She said. Justin then vocalized his further disappointment in himself for falling asleep, now knowing he missed the introduction to a project. Melanie then looked shyly at Justin before continuing, "and since everyone else is already paired off with partners, I was wondering if we could be partners…"

Justin turned his head to view the room, and everyone else indeed was already paired off with someone else. Justin sighed. "Sure," He said, giving in. He did need a partner, plus she seemed like a nice girl anyway.

"Awesome," She said ecstatically. "We should start working on it as soon as possible. When's the best time to go to the library for you?" She asked.

"Uhh," Justin looked at his wrist watch. It was almost noon so this class would be over soon. "I actually have one more class after this, but after that I could meet up with you. I usually leave campus everyday at 4pm because that's when my bus comes though."

"That's fine!" Melanie said. "This is perfect! Meet me in the library when you can, and I'll tell you about the project and we can start outlining it and such." Justin gave her a polite nod and she beamed at him before leaving the room, since the professor dismissed the students moments before.

Justin trudged out of his desk, trying to pick up his pace a little to get to his next class. Why did he take so many back-to-back classes?

He exited the building and started walking down one of the nicely paved paths they had to his next class. Suddenly, however, a weight was thrown onto his shoulders and his vision went black. He panicked and let out a yelp, but soon relaxed at the familiar giggling.

"Guess who, scaredy-cat?"

"_Alex_," He said, stressing her name. He peeled off her hands from his eyes and turned around to face her. She looked up at him with a small innocent smile, and he couldn't stay mad for long. He sighed, letting his annoyance distinguish, and then took a hold of her hands. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "_Relax_, it's the lunch hour. And Harper wanted to see Zeke and I thought you might know where he is," She said, partly lying, since she mainly came just to see him.

It wasn't until then that Justin saw Harper standing off to the side with a sheepish smile. She gave a small wave, obviously not wanting to be a third-wheel to them. Justin told Harper that Zeke would most likely be in the café. He gave her directions and she left with nothing more than a gracious 'thank you'.

"So…"Alex started, wrapping her arms around Justin's forearm. "What are you doing now?"

"Going to another class," Justin stated, "so maybe you should catch up with Harper."

Alex frowned. "_Or…_I can walk you to class," She replied with a satisfied smile. She reached up to give him a small peck on the lips, something she had wanted to do ever since she saw him come out of the big fancy building.

"You're going to walk me to class?" Justin asked, snorting slightly. "Are you going to carry my books too?"

Alex crinkled her nose at that. "Nahh, you can keep those..." Justin chuckled at her reaction and bent his head down to give her small peck. She smiled at the unexpectedness of the kiss. She might have to surprise him at school more often. "Now off to…walk," She said, lacing their fingers together and letting Justin walk them in the proper direction.

Unfortunately, his next class was only a minute walk down the path. "Do you really have to go?" Alex asked, sticking her bottom lip out as she looked at him sadly.

"Yes, but you'll see me in a couple hours when I get home," Justin told Alex. Her lips turned downwards and her eyes downcast. "Hey," Justin began, cupping her face with both of his hands so they were looking directly into each other's eyes. "I would love to just skip class with you, but this is important. Okay?"

"I love you," He said a few moments later and then slowly brought his face down to hers and kissed her sweetly. She was expecting this kiss, so she wrapped her arms around his waist, clenching at the material of his shirt to bring him closer to her.

"Get a room," They heard someone mutter in the cluster of students going by, causing them to depart from the kiss.

"Love you, too," Alex said, and she watched Justin disappear into another fancy building.

…

He was late. Almost two hours late. Justin was never late for anything. It just wasn't like him. Alex began to wonder if something was wrong, if something happened to him. She bit her lip in nervousness as she continued to watch the door, waiting restlessly for the dark haired boy to come home in one piece.

"Mija?" Theresa called, forcing Alex to tear her gaze away from the door to her mother. "Do you know where Justin is?"

Alex bit her lip again, fighting the urge to cry. She was scared. She shook her head at her mother and returned her gaze at the door.

Thankfully, a moment later, Justin walked through the door and Alex couldn't help but run quickly to his side and crush him in a bear hug. He stumbled back slightly, but returned the hug. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I was so worried," Alex confessed, and damn she wanted to kill him recently for making her feel like such a needy little scared girlfriend. Justin rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. He whispered reassurances in Alex's ear that he was, in fact, alright.

"Kids, why don't you get ready for dinner," Theresa suggested as she started to set the plates and utensils on the table. She was becoming a bit uncomfortable by how they were clinging to each other like they were; it'd be best if they went somewhere else and out of her sight for the moment. She still got uncomfortable seeming them be so intimate and close with each other.

Justin nodded respectfully towards his mother, noting the uneasiness in his mother's behavior. He unwrapped himself from Alex and walked up the stairs, Alex following not far behind him.

Alex walked into Justin's room, stopping at the door. She saw him strip himself of his shirt, leaving him currently shirtless. She continued to watch him curiously as he walked over to his dresser to search for another shirt. His back muscles were prominent from where Alex stood and she almost wanted to screw being upset at him and just jump him. She shook her head at those thoughts though. "Where were you?" She questioned, but the question came off breathy as she continued to stare at her boyfriend's body. And damn that boy again for being so sexy and drool worthy when she wanted to interrogate him. It wasn't coming out as intimidating as she wanted.

He turned around, a fresh shirt in his hands. "I was at the library working on this new project with my partner. I wasn't planning on staying so late, but time got away from me and we were making great progress on our research…" He explained as he pulled his shirt over his head. He then walked over to the doorway where Alex still stood, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Alright?"

She nodded, casting her eyes down at their feet. "Just…make sure you call or text or something the next time you're going to be late. I thought you got mugged or something…"

Justin chuckled, but pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, knowing she was probably more emotional than she was showing and that she needed the comfort. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's alright," She spoke, but of course she wasn't. She could still feel his lips on her forehead as he spoke to her, his warm breath calming her considerably. She gripped onto him, needing as much of each others' bodies touching as possible. She needed to feel sure he was there, that he was safe, that he was alright and all hers.

He was right in front of her, so tangible, but why did it feel like he was slipping away?

**A/N: **So, how did you like it? Next chapter we're going to hear a little from Max again and a little more conflict will be arising? Sound good? Hope so. :) **PLEASE REVIEW! **

**REVIEW REPLY:**

**Inthis4kicks: **So glad you're enjoying the story and thanks for reviewing!

**NadineIsAwesome: **Yeah, I kinda wanted to show a little glimpse of what was going on each day and what it might be like for the few future weeks ahead in the story. And yeah, the chapter got pretty lengthy, but like you said, long chapters are awesome. I wish I could write them more often. And we'll be hearing a little more from Max next chapter. And I won't get rid of it, I was just having one of those days. Lol. Thanks for reviewing.

**Baku babe: **Max and experiments don't mix well. Lol I agree with you there. You'll see more about next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **That was my favorite line! XD I don't even know why I wrote it, but I thought it and just knew it would be a perfect thing for Max to say. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**CaughtThyself: **Hey, don't worry about not reviewing. But at least you got a double update in your case. Lol. And I am going to be doing a chapter with the wizard competition. It's looking like it's going to be the last chapter of the story. Yay! Lol. Max's experiment is definitely going to come into play. Muhahaha. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Yeah, I feel bad for Justin too. I always felt like he would work himself to death like this though. And I won't get rid of the story, I was just having a bad day and such. Lol. Thanks for reviewing though.

**Not Just a Nerd: **I love that you loved the chapter. Lol. And writing long chapters isn't hard if you have something to write them on. Lol. If that makes any sense whatsoever…XD And yeah I know, we're all tweeting, not too much lately though =/ Thanks for reviewing though, buddy!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Don't worry about not reviewing, it's alright. Totally understand about being swamped with work. Thanks though. So glad you like my writing, don't know how, but thanks. XD Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **I believe I sent you a PM concerning your confusion. Lol Thanks for reviewing though!

**Tilante: **No worries! :) I have to admit that it was fun reading all your reviews. Lol. And Zeke clogging was mentioned a couple time in the show, so that's where I got that from. Very interesting about why you chose their hot beverages of choice though like you do. I'm a coffee drinker. Lol. Like big time, but I def see it in character for Justin to drink tea since he does in the show. Interesting though. I loved your whole review though. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **Max is so fun to write. Lol. And Justin is just a big sweetheart. I'd definitely try to marry him if it was possible. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!


	7. Chapter 7

I will be late again today, so don't wait up.

Alex stared down at the text with a mixture of relief and annoyance. Relief because Justin listened to her and warned her about being late this time around, but annoyance because he was going to be late _again_.

Now Alex knew Justin went full on nerd when it came to school and big projects, so she tried to not be mad at him for taking away one of the few moments she had with him in a day, but the minute they shared when he came home was something that got her through the day. When she was in school, barely holding herself upright and awake, she would think of Justin coming through the door, kissing her and suddenly making it all endurable. But now, he wasn't here, and all she felt was…empty.

She shook her head, blinking back tears, knowing it was foolish to cry over something as petty as this. Instead she stared at the text again, forcing herself to crack a smile at his texting. He must have been the only teenager to text like he was writing a novel.

"Mija?"

Alex put down her phone on the table and looked up to see her mother looking down at her with worry.

"Are you alright?" Theresa questioned.

Alex bit her lip, but nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm alright." Alex tore her gaze from her mother's face to the grain of the kitchen table. "Justin's going to be late again, so he said not to wait up for him," Alex told her mother, while absentmindedly running her hand over the edges of her cell phone.

"Oh, okay…" Theresa said quietly. "Well, we're having dinner soon, since your father and I have to go to this sandwich meeting downtown tonight. We'll be back late tonight," Theresa explained to her only daughter as she stirred the contents of what was in the pot on the stove.

Alex merely nodded.

Theresa sighed. She hated how her daughter was being affected by all of this. Not getting to see Justin so much was really tearing her up. "Can you go get Maxie, Alex? He should be in the lair…"

Without a word of rebuttal or sarcasm, Alex followed her mother's command. Theresa stared after her daughter in a slight shock. _Wow, she must really be out of it._

…

"Max!" Alex yelled, opening the lair door. "Din-" But she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Max behind the wooden table that they all used as their desk during wizards lessons. He had a huge black pot over a flickering flame. He stood over it, stirring it carefully. "What are you doing?" Alex questioned.

Max's head snapped up, somehow he hadn't heard Alex until now. "Like I said, it's my experiment," He replied.

"So you _are_ doing an experiment?" Alex said, but it came out more like a question. Max and experiments just didn't go together, at least, not in a good way. It was going to take awhile for this to process.

"What experiment?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Urghhh," Alex growled in frustration. "I am _so_ not doing _this_ today! It's dinner!" She proclaimed.

"Oh, food!" Max exclaimed happily, bounding out of the lair quickly to go upstairs to eat.

Alex shook her head. Max was definitely one strange bird. She turned to leave the lair, but her curiosity led her over to the table with the huge pot. She leaned her head over the pot, but saw nothing but boiled water and all of Max's trash. "Experiment? Yeah, right," Alex snorted, "Nothing to worry about."

…

_Next day: _

**CLASS CANCELLED FOR TODAY.**

Justin frowned. Why did the damn professors have to wait until you got to class before they let you know it was cancelled? He snarled at the piece of paper on the class door, angry that he wasted time coming to class that was not in session for the day, when he could have been working on schoolwork or studying more spells. He turned quickly around in slight frustration, but consequently ran right into someone.

"Sorry," He immediately apologized as he felt the impact. He gazed down at his victim, his face fully apologetic. "Melanie?" He questioned, sticking his hand out for her to grab and helped her back to her feet.

"So, is this how you treat your project partners? Because if so, I might want to get a new partner," She teased as she dusted off her clothes from being on the floor.

Justin laughed, but shook his head. "Sorry about that. I just wasn't looking. Sorry."

"Aw, it's alright," She said, flipping her hand carelessly. "So, class is cancelled, huh?"

Justin sighed, looking back at the paper pinned to the door again that said just that. "Yeah…hey, how about we use this time to work on the project some more?"

"Well, I'm actually pretty hungry, how about we do lunch?" Melanie suggested.

Justin swallowed nervously. "Um…I-I think we-I'm not really hungry," He stuttered. He nervously wringed the collar of his shirt, feeling like it was choking him suddenly.

Melanie giggled. "Oh, come on! We're partners but I don't know a thing about you and you don't know a thing about me. Why don't we just use this opportunity to get to know each other? It might even help us with our project if we knew how the other thought a bit."

Justin rubbed the back of his neck, giving Melanie an uneasy smile. "Sure," He slowly agreed.

…

"Justin, eat!" Melanie prodded.

Justin snapped out of his drifting gaze and reluctantly took a bite of the pizza he ordered. "Um, sorry, I'm just really tired," He told her, which was partially true, but he was mainly thinking about Alex.

Melanie took a sip of her soda, looking at Justin peculiarly. "What?" Justin questioned, feeling uncomfortable under her stare.

"You always seem tired. In class, out of class….why?"

"I took a lot of classes this semester, stupid and practically suicide, I now know, but it's taking a lot out of me…" Justin told her. _And I stay up even later to train for my family's wizard competition because if I don't win, me and my sister slash girlfriend are screwed._ Yeah, there was that bit of info, as well, to factor.

Melanie reached her hand across the table to gingerly touch Justin on his forearm. "Hey, don't let college drive you insane. It's supposed to be the best years of your life, not the years leading up to your death bed." Justin's breath hitched and was caught in his throat. He immediately retracted his arm from the table and away from Melanie's reach.

"Melanie, I need to tell you something," Justin started and Melanie nodded for Justin to continue, "I don't want you thinking this is a date or anything like that. I mean you're a great girl and all, but I don't see you that way, especially since I have a girlfriend…"

Melanie's eyes widened at the new information, but she hid her disappointment well. "Oh, you have a girlfriend? That's cool. Is it really serious?"

"Very," Justin replied, his mouth shaping into a smile for the first time since they sat down, "we're actually going to be celebrating our sixth anniversary soon. Next Friday to be exact." His smile then faltered as a thought popped in his head. Now distressed, Justin raked his one hand through his hair. "And I've been so busy that I actually didn't get her anything yet…" He ruefully and shamefully admitted.

Melanie nodded her head. "_Really_…? Tell me more about her."

* * *

**A/N: **So we saw a little more about Max's experiment and a little more with Melanie. So, how'd you like this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW with your thoughts! :D

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Not Just a Nerd: **Yay, you caught up! Woot! Lol. And of course I had to give the viewers a shirtless David/Justin. It's the best thing ever. XD Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**Tilante: **Yay drama indeed. Muahahaha! XD Thanks for reviewing!

**TNT and KC: **So glad you like this story so far and that you liked "Baby, It's Fact"! :) Thanks for reviewing!

**WhY1NoT2: **Aww, so glad you like them both! Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **Justin is really exhausted and that's exactly what I was trying to convey with him falling asleep in class. So glad you noticed that. And Melanie is definitely going to be starting some drama. Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **Aww, thanks! Thanks for reviewing too!

**NadineIsAwesome: **So glad you liked the last chapter! I can't help myself, but put cute little parts in when I can. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Drama is definitely coming! Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Aww, seriously? Thank you so much. This review really made my day. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing too!

**Dulscar: **Yeah, Alex isn't really going to like the idea when she finds out about Melanie being Justin's partner, that's a given. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!


	8. Chapter 8

"No way!" Justin exclaimed as he chuckled to the person over the phone. "Seriously? Wow…I will never look at that guy the same." And then he laughed again, and Alex could sense the smile in his voice, but she wasn't sure who the cause of it was, which made her slightly suspicious.

Alex was standing outside Justin's room, listening to him talk on the phone with someone. It could have been Zeke for all Alex knew, but she didn't think so, since the topic of aliens had yet to be brought up. And Alex knew she shouldn't be spying on her boyfriend like this, but when he hid himself away night after night to work, but she found him instead talking animatedly with someone she might not know, she began to grow apprehensive. _Did this happen all the time?_

"So, tomorrow, we'll meet at our usual place, right?" Justin asked. He paused, waiting for the response of the person on the other line. "Alright cool. See you then," Justin ended and Alex could hear the beep of the 'end' button being pushed.

"Who were you talking to?" Alex blurted out as she opened the door the rest of the way, revealing herself, and ultimately, make Justin jump out of his seat in fright.

After getting over his scare, Justin turned to his girlfriend. "I was talking to my partner. You know, the one I've been going to the library with lately."

Alex nodded her head distractedly as she walked a few steps into Justin's room. "You two seem to get along pretty well," Alex noted in a guarded demeanor, crossing her arms as she surveyed him.

Justin raised his eyebrow at her odd behavior. "Yeah…I guess we do…" Justin answered slowly, eyeing Alex curiously. "So, what are you doing here?"

"It's dinner," Alex told him simply.

"Oh… well, I'll have to eat later or something. I've got too much work to do right now," Justin admitted, pointing to his paper cluttered desk.

_If he had too much work to do, then why was he wasting time talking to his partner?_ But Alex bit her tongue from saying anything. Something she felt she was doing more and more of lately.

"Alright," She said tightly, "I'll let mom know." And without another glance, Alex left Justin's room, making sure to slam the door shut on her way out.

…

"Here," Alex said dryly as she shoved the plate of food into her brother's unready hands. She turned to immediately leave, but Justin reached out and caught her forearm before she could. "_What_, Justin? I don't want to keep you from your work," She bitterly told him.

"Is that what your whole tantrum is about? Me being busy with schoolwork?" Justin inquired. He got up from his seat and stood directly in-front of Alex. "I told you-"

"Yeah, I know. That during the week it was going to be hard…blah blah blah," Alex said. "I get it, I do."

"Do you _really_?" Justin asked. "I mean, you practically threw the food in my face!"

Alex cracked a smile at that thought, despite how heavily frustrated she was. "_That_ actually would have been a good idea…"

Justin rolled his eyes, but grinned back at her. The high tension seemed to immediately deflate in that moment. "Are you alright? Really? I don't want you mad at me all the time."

"Yeah, totally," Alex fibbed convincingly. "You know me; I'm overemotional and headstrong. I'll be fine."

Justin stared at her for a moment, trying to decipher whether she was actually okay or not. Eventually, Justin nodded to her statement. "Okay…but promise me you'll let me know if anything is bothering you."

"Promise."

Justin tiredly sighed. He glanced over at his untouched food and gave Alex a grateful smile. "Thanks for the food, Alex. I was actually starving," He confessed. He dipped down to give Alex a short sweet kiss. "What would I do without you?" He murmured and then kissed her again just as tenderly as before. Alex smiled into the second kiss as his lips lingered.

She doesn't know how he does it, but he was always so easy to forgive.

…

Alex couldn't be any happier for the weekend. _Finally_, she could get out of her looped routine and do something different and do that something different with Justin.

Through the week, Alex quickly realized that she didn't need to get a text from Justin -even though she did get one everyday- to know that he would be staying late,_ again and again_, at the library working on his project. As much as it infuriated her, Alex knew that the pattern wouldn't change, at least, not until the project was finished. And _ohhh_ how could she not wait for the project to be over.

But today was Saturday. A day for just them. No one else, but them. No work or distractions. They would be completely romantic and cheesy enough to give the movies a run for their money and Nicholas Sparks new ideas for his books.

She lightly smiled at the thought as she touched up her makeup in-front of the mirror in the living room. She was killing time as she waited for Justin to come downstairs and start their day.

Just then, Justin walked down the stairs, but his bookbag was slung over his shoulder.

Alex gave him a questioning look, before placing her right arm on her hip, obviously not happy in the slightest. "So either our date is at one heck of a nerdy place, or you're canceling," She angrily remarked

Justin winced at her tone, and the look on his face was nothing but sorrow and guilt. "I'm sorry," He said with a feeble voice as he stood in-front of her, the pained expression deepening on his face.

Alex shied away from his gaze as she crossed her arms in defense.

"See you later," Justin spoke softly. He leaned down to kiss her on the lips, but Alex turned her head away in anger, directing the kiss to land on her cheek delicately.

Alex heard Justin sigh sadly, but soon the front door closed and Justin was gone.

…

"Come on, Alex," Harper prodded, as she grabbed her best friend's hand in an attempt to drag her friend out of her ravine and to fill out some of the customer's orders. Alex groaned, pulling back. Just because she was home didn't mean she wanted to work.

Harper stopped her fruitless attempt and faced her friend with an arched eyebrow. "What's the matter?"

Alex heaved a sigh as she plopped down in a nearby booth.

Harper followed, sitting down next to Alex as the brunette twiddled her thumbs.

"Your parents wanted you to help out since you're plans fell through with Justin," Harper said, concern lacing over her words. "This is about Justin, isn't it?"

Alex shrugged. "It's just that…I don't know…I just hate how school and, especially, this _damn_ project are taking over his life! The weekends are supposed to be our time! He promised!" She quietly yelled, her voice breaking towards the end. Her eyes began to burn from the sensation of tears brimming. "I don't want to be home in an empty house. Not today," Alex told to Harper.

Harper sadly smiled at Alex. She placed a comforting hand on her knee. "What do you want to do then?"

Alex shyly looked over at Harper, a smile illuminating her features at once. "Let's go to the library!" She exclaimed.

Harper drew her head back in shock. "The library? Wha-"

"The university's library," Alex clarified with a small chuckle, "that's where Justin is. We can take him and his partner out for lunch. I'm sure they could use a break by now. And I'm sure he'd be okay with it, since he was fine with me visiting last time."

Harper wanted to insist that it wasn't such a good idea, but didn't have the heart to sadden Alex any more than she was. So, with a grime smile, Harper let Alex transport the both of them to the library.

…

Walking inside the library, Alex frowned at the vastness of the place. "How are we going to find him in this place?" She questioned.

"Split up?" Harper suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

Alex reluctantly nodded, and they both went in opposite directions in pursuit for Justin. However, after they both finished searching their wings, they still came up unsuccessful.

"Ask the lady at the desk?" Harper then recommended.

Sighing, knowing it would probably be pointless, but couldn't hurt, Alex walked over to the middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk.

As the woman sensed someone's presence, she glanced up from her computer and gave Alex a welcoming smile. "Hello, how may I help you?"

Alex cleared her throat as she gave the woman a polite smile. "I was wondering if maybe you've seen a guy a couple inches taller than me, dark hair that goes ten-thousand different directions, and is pretty much a dweeb who has his head in a book all the time…he's been coming here pretty often…" Alex recited to the clerk.

The woman laughed kind-heartedly at the description. "I actually think I know who you are talking about," She told Alex, and Alex's features perked up. "but I don't think he came in today. Sorry," She told Alex sympathetically, before returning to her work.

Crestfallen and confused, Alex mindlessly walked back to where Harper stood. "He's not here…" She whispered, "but then… where is he…?"

* * *

**A/N: **Ahhhh, So where in the world is Justin? You'll find out next chapter…kinda…but next chapter is going to be a big one it looks like! Ekk! So **PLEASE REVIEW** with your thoughts and comments!

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **'That thing' XD Yes, he told 'that thing' that he had a girlfriend. Of course he would. ;) And it makes me uber happy to see you reviewing, especially since you said you don't review all the time. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something here. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Hmmm, you'll soon see what Max is doing. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **Hmmm, Alex is def getting suspicious about Justin's partner, and even more so next chapter…Thanks for reviewing!

**Sweethart963: **I know, I feel so bad for Alex myself. I always seem to make her suffer. XD And about what you said about Max; unintentionally and intentionally he will… ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **You're guess is actually really good, I never even thought of it, so I guess that tells you whether it is right or not. lol. Thanks for reviewing though!

**1405Smiley0514: **I wanted Max's experiment to almost resemble the piece from 'Doll House' that he sold for tons of money in water. Lol. XD And I actually just finished reading 'Dear John' a month or two ago. It was sad. You just want them together so bad, but John is just too good of a guy to pry his way in there and gahh! :( Anywayy…lol, thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **Haha, but Max is a strange bird, so I'm not lying. XD Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter!

**CaughtThyself: **You'll just want to scream at Justin. I don't know why I made Justin the bad guy and Alex the victim so much…lol Thanks for reviewing!

**NadineIsAwesome: **Well Alex always cares, she just chooses not to show she does. Lol. And she's really getting worked up right now. Thanks for reviewing!

**Not Just a Nerd: **Haha, you like the name Melanie? I don't think you'll hate it by the end though. Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**CO ZE TY OMI2: **Well, one, thank you for reading the whole story so far and glad to see you are enjoying it. And the dramatic irony of Justin doing all this for Alex, and yet Alex is blind to it, is going to come up again in the story a couple more times I believe. Alex is so blinded by her problems that she doesn't see beyond them and what they really mean, if that makes sense. XD And Max's experiment isn't really evil, but it definitely will cause some chaos. Thanks for reviewing!


	9. Chapter 9

Alex sat slouched down on the orange couch. She felt like every muscle in her was tight and rigid. Her jaw was clenched in fury, but her eyes were dull in misery. She was on the borderline of either, ripping Justin's head off or bawling into his chest all night, the next time she saw him. _The former could at least be somewhat fun…_

Of course she was over-thinking this. _Of course_. Justin could have gone somewhere equally geeky to go do his project or just _something_ else, anything else, than the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he was cheating on her. The idea, itself, felt so farfetched; it's Justin after all. Mr. Responsible and do-gooder.

He couldn't do that to her. Wouldn't do that to her. They had gone through so much together, and to just throw that all away would be foolish, right? But then there was that phone call that she overheard him have, that she kept feeling uneasy about every time she thought about it. Not to mention, today he had lied about where he was going…

Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening. She glanced over and saw Justin stepping through with a wide smile plastered on his face. "Hey, Alex," He greeted enthusiastically. "I'm back from the library!"

She stared at him coldly for a moment. His smile immediately faltered under her harsh gaze. Then she turned her head back to view the TV, which was playing some nonsense show.

Justin quickly took a seat next to her on the couch, sides pressed together. However, Alex scooted away to avoid the contact. Justin frowned at the action.

"Alex, please don't be mad at me, please," He begged. He tried to take her hand in his, but she retracted. His eyebrows furrowed and his face scrunched in further sadness as he watched her. "I'm home relatively early-"

"What? Do you want a metal?" Alex dryly commented, her voice so harsh even she was taken aback by the cruelness of it.

"No," He said quietly. "I was thinking that maybe we could go out to eat or… anything else you'd like to do…"

"No, I'm not feeling too well…" She said quickly.

"Not feeling well? Like sick?" He suddenly asked. "Do you want me to make you some soup or tea?" When Alex didn't respond he continued. "I'll make you tea then, okay? I'll take care of you." He gave her a small smile, and then kissed the side of her head gently, before walking to the kitchen to boil the tea water.

Alex closed her eyes firmly, trying to trap the tears that wanted to break free. Justin was always so caring and loving, making her now feel foolish and guilty for even thinking he could do such things like cheat on her. She just wanted to hug him and feel his comfort, but the fact that he still lied to her, prevented her from doing just that.

Just where _was_ he today, if he wasn't at the library.

Minutes later, Justin was back with Alex's fresh brewed tea. He set it down on the coffee table with a slight smile. "Here you go."

Alex looked over at Justin, who had taken a seat on the chair to her right; respecting her space. She gave him the only smile she could muster, but it was something, and his features brightened up because of it. "Thanks," She told him shortly as she took a small sip of the hot tea.

"No problem. I'd do anything for you," He replied sweetly.

Alex felt a pang of guilt rush through her again. _She_ was supposed to be guilt-tripping _him_, not the other way around.

"So…Justin," She started slowly, and he watched her with his full attention, "How was the project today?"

Alex saw him freeze momentarily, but then he widened his smile a tad too broad for her liking. "It was good…" He said a bit uneasily.

"That's good…" Alex said, with a small fake smile. "What exactly _were_ you doing on the project today?"

_Now_ Justin was squirming in his seat, giving her a bashful, yet _so_ guilty smile. "You know…same old, same old…I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear about some boring project of mine though…" He faintly stuttered, as he swallowed nervously. Alex could almost see the small freckles of sweat forming on his forehead.

Alex grinned at the obvious discomfort her boyfriend was in, while also trying to ignore the rough feeling rubbing along her insides that he was, in fact, hiding something from her. "Yeah…maybe you're right…"

Alex then turned her attention back to her tea, taking another sip. And although it was very faint, she could hear Justin let out a breath of relief.

…

The following day things were back to normal between the couple. They spent Sunday together by enjoying each other's company by going to the massive wizard mall. And Justin was sure to make it up to Alex by the bags and bags of clothes he bought and held.

However, normal also meant that during the week Justin had to go back to hardcore student mode, and Alex rarely saw him. But Justin did say that it would be the final week for the stupid project of his, which Alex couldn't help but be excited for. He'd be at least getting home at a more decent time.

But Alex was also happy about the fact that their big date was coming up. Their 6th Month Anniversary. And although the days seemed to be dragging and dragging, seconds feeling like hours and so on, she felt it would be worth the wait.

…

"What?" Justin hollered into the phone. "But-You said-" Justin breathed heavily through his nose as he stressfully rubbed his forehead. "I know it's not your fault," He said calmly to the person receiving. "Yeah…alright. Talk to you later," He said, and then angrily hung up the phone, throwing the device on his bed.

Alex, who was once again listening in, heard a small thump and her brother softly curse under his breath. Hearing Justin curse would have been pretty amusing if the phone call hadn't been, once again, a suspicious one.

She counted to 60 seconds in her head, before entering her brother's room. He was kneeled down on the ground, picking up various pieces of his phone that broke off when the phone bounced off his bed and onto the hardwood floor.

Alex snickered at the sight. "Everything alright?"

Justin looked up, a scowl plastered on his face. "Perfect," He mumbled as he stood up, chucking the debris on his desk to fix later.

"You seem mad," Alex noted, but of course she knew he was for sure. "Why did you just Hulk out and kill your poor phone?" She asked teasingly.

Justin's face broke into an easy smile as he looked at Alex. He casually walked over and pulled her close to him, burying his face in her hair. "Something just kinda went wrong with the…uh… project…" He said hesitantly, "but it should be fine," He assured her, letting his warm breath linger on her earlobe.

She pulled back enough to look him in the face. "Are you sure? You seemed pretty tensed a minute ago," She commented, brushing her one hand comfortingly through his hair.

Justin briefly closed his eyes at the touch. He tiredly smiled, placing his hand on her wrist, rubbing it soothingly. "Yeah…things might not go as planned, but it will be fine…"

…

Tonight was finally the night. It was their 6th month anniversary and their big date! Alex couldn't suppress the butterflies swarming in her stomach as she thought of the night that awaited them. The restaurant that she made a reservation at a few weeks ago, was supposed to have some of the best food in California.

She twirled in front of her mirror, trying to admire the short, but still decent, red dress she managed to snag earlier in the week for the occasion. And _seriously_, she felt like a giddy little girl!

Finally satisfied with her hair, makeup, and outfit, she shyly stepped out of her room. She took the few strides to Justin's room and knocked softly, before letting herself in.

And there he was, hunched over one of his books, still clad in a t-shirt and jeans. The geek probably lost track of time. Luckily they were teleporting, and could be there in, literally, a flash.

She cleared her throat, trying to gain his attention, which she was successful in doing.

Justin swiveled his chair around to face Alex. His face spread into an adoring smile as he looked at Alex. "Look who's all dressed up," He teased lightly. "What's the occasion?"

Alex rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You're not funny, you know. Come on, get ready," She prodded.

Justin eyebrows creased downwards in confusion. "Get ready…?"

Now it was Alex's turn to give him a look of confusion, but with mixture of hurt as well. "You forgot…?" She eventually whispered. "I can't believe…you forgot…" She tried to swallow down the incoming feeling of a lump forming in her throat; it felt like damn brick was jammed in there.

"Forget what-Ohhhh!" Justin said, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, as he suddenly realized the situation. "Our date-our anniversary!" His slapped himself with his hand, and then winced from his stupidity and the sting his hand left on his face. "I'm so _so_ sorry, Alex. Here, let me just get quickly dressed…" He told Alex as he began to rummage his closet for a suit.

"Don't bother," Alex spat lowly, tears trailing down her face, smudging some of her makeup as they did. Justin stopped what he was doing to look at Alex, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Alex stalked out of his room. He soon heard her bedroom door slamming loudly shut in the short distance.

…

After many fruitless attempts on Justin's part to coax Alex from her bedroom, Justin tiredly stomped down the stairs to the kitchen in defeat. He listlessly fell into the nearest bar stool, immediately hanging his head low in shame. _How could he forget? Stupid, stupid Justin!_

Jerry, who had been raiding the fridge for pudding, heard his son's entrance. He turned around, closing the refrigerator door, to face his son. He sympathetically smiled at his oldest. "Hey, Justin." Justin managed to groan a reply to his father. "Do you know where the pudding is? I swear I just bought some the-" but Jerry stopped short when he saw the disbelief shadowing over Justin's features.

Clearing his throat, Jerry began again, "I-I mean…what's wrong son?"

Justin trailed his hand down his face, groaning at the events of the past half-hour. "I forgot that today was Alex and I's anniversary," Justin admitted glumly.

"Ohhh," Jerry winced. "Been there," He remarked, setting a heavy hand on Justin's shoulder for mild comfort.

"What do I do then?" Justin asked, looking up at his father for guidance.

This time, Jerry's face actually expressed true sympathy for his son's predicament. "Well…if Alex is anything like your mother, she'll want to be showered in flowers and candies and jewelry…she'll want to be massaged and-"

"I think I'll just go with the flowers and candy," Justin interrupted, quickly getting up from his seat. Jerry nodded to Justin as his eldest ran down the stairs to the substation.

Jerry then turned back to the refrigerator, opening it once again to view its contents. "Now where is that dang pudding I bought the other day…?"

…

Now clad with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates, Justin stood outside Alex's door nervously. He knocked timidly on her door, hoping that the time he was gone had calmed her down enough to be rational.

"I'm not letting you in, Justin! So, _go away_!" She yelled from the other side of the door, and he grimaced at her still evident anger. _Yup. Still angry._

"Alex, please, open up. Just for one second…please," He pleaded to her.

A small click was then heard, and her door opened a crack, just enough to see the brown of one eye. "_What?_"

"I got you flowers-roses-your favorite, and I got you some chocolate," He boasted as he held them up to show her. He gave her a weak smile, hoping this would at least break the ice and they could talk.

Alex opened the door a little further; enough to see her full frame. "Let me see them," She insisted, holding her hands out. Justin obliged as he handed her both the bouquet and candy. Once they were both in her hands, she inspected them momentarily before looking back at Justin. "Thanks…I guess," She said, before shutting the door in his face and locking it back up.

"_Alex_!" Justin hollered, but the other side was silent. He then huffed out a long, labored breath. "_Fine_…then I'll do this the hard way…" He mumbled to himself.

…

Alex sat sulkily in her bed, wrapped under her covers. She had long ago washed her makeup off and changed into her pajamas, and was now admiring the roses Justin got her, as well as eating the chocolates.

She just couldn't believe he could forget it was their anniversary. It was one thing to lose track of the time, but an entirely different thing to forget the whole date. Seeing the confusion on his face from earlier literally broke her heart. He was the one who was Mr. Punctual and remembered all the dates and events. Not her!

Suddenly, she heard a faint noise coming from outside. At first she ignored it, thinking it could be just the typical New York noise, but then it grew persistent and it seemed to be getting louder. Alex quickly put aside the candy and grabbed her wand from her nightstand.

The noise seemed like it was coming from her one window, so she tiptoed to the side and placed herself out of site. Soon, the window was lifted up, and Alex tried her best not to scream in fear. The hooded person dragged themselves through and Alex did the only logical thing she could do at the time, and that was to sting the intruder using her trusty stun-gun wand app.

The person fidgeted as she stunned them and fell hard on the floor. "Oww…" the person groaned from the floor.

Alex then realized that the person was Justin, and her fear was then replaced back with fury. "Justin? What the _hell_! Were you trying to give me a heart attack?" She swatted him with a pillow she picked up from her bed.

"Stop, stop," Justin pleaded as he raised his arms to guard himself as he attempted to stand up.

"I should stun your ass again! I told you I didn't want you in here!" She argued, still hitting him feverishly with the pillow.

"Please, just hear me out!"

Alex stopped hitting him with the pillow, but then walked over to her door. She unlocked it and opened it. "Get _out_!" She demanded.

"Not until we talk," Justin countered, standing his ground. "I know I screwed up today, but _please_…let's talk about it…"

Alex studied Justin's sincere face, and she couldn't will herself to be mad at him anymore. So, slowly she removed her hand from the door handle and pushed the door shut. "Fine…let's talk. How about we talk about the fact that _you forgot about our anniversary!_" She fathomed.

Justin cringed. He had that one coming.

"I'm sorry. I honestly lost track of the days, Alex. I mean, if you look at my calendar I had this date marked all over the place. I've just been so busy-it's been hectic…"

Alex's eyes were beginning to fill up, and she bit her lip in contemplation. "Justin…" She started, her voice tired, "that's always your excuse, and you know, I get it. You're busy with school work, you're busy with your project… you're too busy for me…"

"No," Justin whispered, shaking his head. "I'm never too busy for you…"

Alex snorted weakly, rolling her eyes as she swallowed down tears. "Could have fooled me…"

"Alex, everything I'm doing right now, is so we can have a better future for ourselves. I'm willing to sacrifice time together now, so that I can spend all the time in the world with you in the future…" Justin walked over to Alex, who was still standing by the door. "You know if you ever, truly needed me, I'd be there in an instant."

Alex shyly looked up into Justin's eyes as he veered over her now. He cupped her face in his hands and she was sold.

"Now, we both know we could have still gone on our date, so something else is going on in that head of yours. What's the matter?" Justin questioned.

Alex broke her gaze and stepped away from his touch. She walked back over to her bed, burying herself under the covers, wanting to just cocoon herself away from this situation at the moment.

Maybe she had overreacted about the anniversary thing. She'd have to be blind to not notice the stress Justin had been going through lately, and knows his excuses were real in reality, since he was a sucky liar and any other day he would have remembered. But really, she had wanted a way to pay him back for lying to her the other day.

"It's nothing," She replied. She didn't want to excuse him of something she really didn't have full proof about. Plus, she trusted him enough, hoping he was doing the right thing, like he always prided himself in doing.

"It's not nothing," Justin insisted as he walked over to her bed and sat down next to her. Quickly discarding his shoes, he positioned himself under the covers with her and held her securely in his arms.

She was trapped. Trapped physically in his hold, but also trapped emotionally. Whenever he looked at her with those damn eyes of his so lovingly, she couldn't help but give in.

Alex trained her eyes on Justin's shirt, rather than his eyes, feeling it'd be easier that way. "I just feel like you're slipping away and I can't stop it…" She unwillingly admitted. "Don't leave me, okay? Please. Promise me, okay? Just promise me."

She felt so little. So needy. But he wanted to know what was streaming through her head, and here it was in a round-about-way. It was her biggest fear that Justin would suddenly realize that she wasn't worth the hassle and run off with someone else.

Justin tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear, and then placed a delicate kiss on her forehead. "Just like I said back in Puerto Rico, I'd never leave you. I love you. And I promise you that I'm not going anywhere without you."

His reassurance lifted Alex's sprit considerably. She then bunched her hands into the fabric of Justin's t-shirt in an effort to bring him closer to her, as if he would suddenly turn to sand and she could no longer grasp him. He then wrapped his arms around her frame even tighter as if he knew she needed the comfort.

She felt herself falling asleep as his scent and warmth began to lure her asleep. "You should be going I guess…" She yawned, lifting her head off his chest so he could easily get up.

"No," Justin said firmly. Alex looked up at him with a questioning glance. "I'm staying here with you tonight."

"You're going to break one of mom and dad's rules?" Alex amusingly asked, but surprised none-the-less.

Justin chuckled softly as reached over to turn off her bedside light, and then rested his head down on top of hers. "You're worth it," He merely stated, and that's all Alex needed to hear.

* * *

**A/N**: A few things to ask: did anyone else remember the stun-gun wand app from earlier in the story? And also, I added a direct quote from another favorite tv show of mine. Anyone know it? Anyway, wasn't that a sweet moment at the end. I almost forgot to include it! O_O So **PLEASE REVIEW**, especially since this chapter was A LOT longer than my usual chapters. :)

**REVIEW REPLY:**

**KandyForUrMind: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Tilante: **Glad you think things are realistic. I'm trying hard to keep them in character despite the circumstances. And Alex's reaction to Justin's partner will be next chapter…uh oh! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **You'll find out where Justin was later in the story, a chapter or so down the line! Thanks for reviewing though!

**Emily: **So glad you like "Baby It's Fact" and also this one so far. Hope to hear more of you and thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **I know, really sad. Poor Alex. We'll find out where Justin was eventually, and as for Max, he was sorta in this chapter, but you won't understand how until down the line. Lol. And awww, seriously, you're amazing! You're reviews make my day. Thanks for reviewing!

**IfOnlyLifeWasAFairytale: **Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **We'll find out where Justin was eventually. ;) Thanks for reviewing! And I like Nicholas Sparks books too. Only read a few, but good none-the-less. 'Last Song' is my favorite book. I bawled like a baby when I read it. XD

**Unknown: **Yeah, Justin isn't doing any of this on purpose. He's trying his best and you'll eventually see where he was today, and why he lied to Alex. Thanks for reviewing!

**Book Worm L: **Thanks for reviewing!


	10. Chapter 10

Early the next morning, Theresa ascended the staircase, a laundry basket tucked under her arm. Knowing her children, except for Justin, wouldn't be cleaning their clothes any time soon, she decided to take the liberty upon herself.

Finally reaching the second floor, she quietly tiptoed into Max's room -even though the boy could probably sleep through a train wreck- to pick up at least some of his clothes that were littered all over the floor. She quickly retreated, though, after her nose could no longer take the repulsive smell that was Max's room.

Next, she walked further down the hallway to Alex's room. She quietly turned the door knob, knowing Alex was a lighter sleeper than her younger brother. As the door swayed open, however, Theresa quietly gasped at the sight before her, almost causing her to drop the laundry basket.

Her mouth suddenly went dry, her heart sped up, and her mind went blank. Her two eldest were in bed…_together_…

She wanted to run out of there and wish she hadn't come in, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene in-front of her. Sure, she might have thought of the possibility that this would happen, but she never wanted to see it.

She swallowed down the little saliva she formed down her sandpaper-like throat, and started picking up some of Alex's dirty clothes on the floor in an effort to distract herself from the occupants in the bed. As she neared closer to the bed, she let out a breath of relief as she saw both of her children fully clothed.

Wiping away the metaphorical sweat from her forehead, she managed to smile down at the couple. They were nestled so snuggly against each other; their love manifesting itself even as they slept.

Jerry had mentioned briefly about Justin forgetting their anniversary in the middle of his pudding rant the night prior. And Theresa knew that the past couple weeks- since school started -was rough for them both, so she silently decided to not bring it up later. It was against the rules, but they obviously needed each other in that moment.

Staring at them for only one more moment, Theresa softly exited the room.

…

A soft click stirred Justin awake. He leaned up somewhat to view the room fully, but saw nothing, and decided to tiredly shrug it off. He then laid back down on one of the pillows, readjusting his hold on Alex just a little bit to reach full comfort.

He looked over at Alex, who was sleeping peacefully on the pillow beside him. And in an instant, it felt like the old times when no one knew about them. The time, a few months back, when they were being endangered by TJ, close to being ratted out by the scum. Alex took refuge in his room, as he slept with her in an iron hold, trying to make sure no one tried to separate them. The only upside of the situation back then was that Justin got to wake up to Alex's beautiful face, like now. But of course now, they weren't on the edge, scared about being found out. They could actually, genuinely enjoy it.

Justin smiled lazily as he gently pushed Alex's hair away from her face. She scrunched up her nose, but didn't make any other actions to indicate she was awake. Justin faintly chuckled as he gazed at her. He couldn't even begin to fathom how lucky he was enough to have her, for her to love him back, especially given their situation.

Everything about her just seemed perfect. From the delicate hairs on her thin eyebrows to the way her lips slightly pouted in her sleep, she was so captivating and beautiful. How could she love him? Someone with an awkward nose, and a love for superheroes and aliens.

"You know…staring is rude," Alex mumbled tiredly, opening her eyes slowly with a yawn. She looked over at her alarm clock, which read seven in the morning. "And you're making me get up at the crack of dawn again! What is your problem?" She teasingly argued, swatting at his chest lightly.

Justin grinned at her, shaking his head at her ways. "You can go back to sleep, you know?"

Alex then pouted. "Well I can't, thanks to your dork face."

Justin rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around her lower stomach, pulling her closer to him. "Oh, can you feel the love?" He remarked sarcastically, but kissed her sweetly on the top her of head nevertheless.

Things then grew quiet as they laid there. Both their heads wrapped up in things they wanted to say, but weren't quite sure if they should. Eventually, Justin broke the silence.

"Alex…about what you said last night…" He started, and he could feel her grow tense under him. "I know it's been hard on you, heck it's been hard on me, but we all have to make sacrifices. I just want you to know that from now on, I'll spend more time with you. You were right. I don't need to hand in _every_ single thing at its prim and proper…"

"Justin," Alex interrupted, "No. I want you to do well. Don't let my selfishness get in the way of your nerd-isms or whatever! I'll be okay, I promise."

Justin looked at her wearingly. "That's what you said the other day and it led to last night…" Justin pointed out.

"But I really am fine now," Alex insisted. "Last night, you took the doubts that I had away."

"Okay," Justin breathlessly replied, nodding his head. "But I'm still going to try and spend more time with you. I don't have that project anymore, so I won't be staying late. I'll even transport home so we have that little gap of time together, okay?"

Alex beamed up at Justin, and went to kiss him happily. "Thank you," She whispered.

…

And things did start looking up the next week.

Like Justin promised, he came home earlier every day and spent a half-hour to an hour spending time with Alex. Whether it was helping her with her schoolwork, her magic, or simply watching TV together, he made sure he designated that time for her and her only.

Of course Alex still didn't have him 24/7, but the fact that he was around her more often than the start of the school year, comforted and elated Alex. It was going as perfectly as Alex always thought having her brother living at home in college would be like.

That is…until the following Saturday.

It was Saturday morning and Justin had just made a huge breakfast for Alex and himself. He had made fluffy, mouthwatering pancakes and scrambled eggs that were also accompanied with buttered toast and sizzling bacon. He served it to her in bed and they both ate happily there as they chatted about what to do later on.

As they settled on a simple day at a park upstate, Justin decided to go to his room to get changed and ready. And Alex too, after eating the last bite of her breakfast, begrudgingly rolled out of bed to do the same, but wanted to get a quick shower first.

She slugged her way into the hall, making her way towards the bathroom, when she heard Justin talking in his room.

Alex hiked up an eyebrow and tiptoed over to his door, which was cracked open just enough to poke a finger through. She stood quietly next to the door as Justin continued to talk to someone, presumably on the phone.

"Really?" He softly asked in excitement, but with a mild disbelief in his voice as well. "You're not just pulling my leg here, are you? Like last time?"

_Last time?_ Alex mouthed the words as her suspicions rose to a whole new level.

"Yes, I know it wasn't your fault…it's just that last time you promised and then it fell through…" Justin spoke. He paused, letting the person on the other line talk for a bit.

"Well…" He started, and then in a lower register continued, "I was going to go out with Alex today, but… I guess I can delay it for an hour or so…"

Alex's face scrunched up in anger and her mouth dropped in shock. _This better be important!_

"No, I'm not going to tell Alex. Not yet. I don't want her to know," Justin quietly confessed, and Alex had to will herself tenfold to not barge in there and start demanding some answers. _What the hell was he not telling her?_

He soon bid the person goodbye, and Alex managed to scramble over to the bathroom before Justin came out of his room. She quickly shoved her toothbrush in her mouth, pretending she was doing the act longer than she was, when Justin popped his head around the door frame.

"Hey," He said softly. He smiled tenderly at her as he walked behind Alex, wrapping his arms around her torso as he pressed her back against his chest. Justin leaned his head on her right shoulder and watched Alex contently though the mirror as she continued to brush her teeth.

"What?" Alex eventually asked, mouth still full with toothpaste.

"Nothing," He said quietly. They locked eyes through the mirror. "You're just so beautiful." He laid a small kiss on her shoulder, and then another right under her ear.

Alex spit out the toothpaste in the sink, reaching to get a towel to wipe her face completely clean. "_Right_…because bed hair, wrinkled clothes, and body odor are so attractive," She charmed sarcastically. She turned herself around, but Justin remained holding her.

"To me it is," He replied, smiling toothily as he kissed her shortly.

Alex encircled her arms around Justin's neck, almost forgetting the phone call for a moment. "Then you got _one weird_ idea of what's attractive."

Justin chuckled, but then dipped down to kiss Alex again, but soon stopped. "Oh, before I forget…" He started, "my partner called and they found a way to fix the project so…" He trailed off, his face already expressing guilt.

"So…you're bailing on me again!" Alex continued for him, her tone already icy. She unwrapped his arms from around her, and turned to lean on the counter. She let out a frustrated breath as she gazed down at the sink in fury.

"It'll only be for an hour or two, I promise. And once this is done, it's over. Then we can do something together."

Alex turned sharply around to face Justin. "Do whatever you want, Justin!" She hollered, then stormed out of the bathroom and into her room.

She fell against her door once she slammed it shut. She wanted to scream! Why was it when things finally were good, it eventually soured? Why could they just remain at a happy neutral? She felt like she was playing in a tennis match. They'd hit the ball to the happy side, but something would always seems to hit it right back. They could never win; not for long.

"Alex…I'm going. I'll be back soon," She faintly heard on the other side of the door. There was silence for a few moments, but then she eventually heard his footsteps walk down the hall.

Alex began to think then. What Justin was talking about on the phone, did not add up to what he told her he was doing. So, obviously he was lying, especially when he said to the person on the phone, that whatever he was doing, he didn't want her to know. Quickly, she made up her mind. She whirled her wand around her body to clean herself up, and then she began to follow.

...

So far, Alex had followed him for nearly 15 minutes, ducking in and out of opened store doors and weaving through the massive amount of people on New York sidewalks on her pursuit. And unfortunately, the direction didn't seem to be anywhere near the library she soon noticed with uneasiness.

Soon, Alex saw Justin near the Manhattan Mall, and weirdly, saw him enter it. With a cocked eyebrow, Alex followed his trail into the mall.

Justin walked around until he found a coffee shop, and took a seat at an empty table after ordering himself a cup. Alex slipped into a store across the way to spy furtively, pretending to look at various blouses and jeans as she looked out the huge window of a wall at Justin.

He sat there, alone, for what seemed like forever, and Alex began to think she was foolish to have followed him all the way here for nothing. However, midway into re-browsing the clothing selection at the store, Alex saw a petite little blonde enter the coffee shop and sit with Justin.

Dropping the pair of jeans she was inspecting, she walked over to the window, only hiding herself semi-behind the clothing rake nearby.

Justin greeted this girl with a warm smile and even got up to comply a hug the chick no doubt wanted. Ohhh, was Alex's blood boiling now. It was obvious the dumb blonde was into Justin and was totally milking the hug, making it last longer than Alex felt was completely necessary, if it was necessary at all.

With slanted eyes, Alex let out a soft growl and her feet took her to the coffee shop as if she was on autopilot. Before she knew what was happening, she had grabbed Justin by forearm and yanked him out of his seat.

"Wha-what are you doing here?"Justin yelped, eyes going wide at the sight of her.

"Justin, who is this?" Alex heard the dumb blonde ask.

Alex threw her angered eyes from Justin to the current enemy. "His _girlfriend_!" Alex spat, then returned her gaze to Justin, not even waiting to see how the girl reacted. Justin's mouth was agape from shock, and all Alex wanted to do at the moment was to slap it shut, but she refrained herself from causing a even bigger scene in the small coffee shop; people were already staring.

Swiftly, she took Justin's arm and dragged him out of the shop and out of sight from the people in it.

The movement seemed to wake Justin from his stupor, but is face was still etched in an expression of surprise. "What are you doing here?" He repeated quietly.

Alex snapped. "I think the question is: what are _you_ doing _here_? Aren't you supposed to be working on your project? And who is that girl?" She hollered. Her heart was ramming into her chest like a jackhammer and moisture was forming behind her eyelids.

"Alex calm down," Justin said softly, outreaching his hands to comfort her, but Alex side-stepped the attempt.

"Not until you tell me _what the hell_ is going on!" She insisted, crossing her arms in attempt to further prove that she wasn't backing down from this.

Justin sighed as he raked a hand through his thick hair. "The girl in there is my partner for the project…"He lightly explained.

Alex snorted as she rolled her eyes. "Well you looked like you were really making progress on the project," She bit back sarcastically.

"Fine, I'll admit that we're not doing the project today, but it's not what it looks like Alex! It's completely platonic," Justin told her, his tone beseeching her to believe him.

"Then what is this little meet-up? And why didn't you ever tell me your project partner was a girl?"

"Because I knew it would end like this! You get jealous easily, Alex!" Justin yelled back, his own tempter rising.

"With good reason! That girl is ready to pounce you!"

"She wouldn't do that, and even if she did, would you really think I would cheat on you?" He then asked, his anger fading towards the end as his voice cracked.

"I don't think you would, but…you cancelled on me to see your 'platonic partner' over here, _and_ lied to me about it, Justin! What am I supposed to think?" Justin cringed. It didn't sound good when she said it, but it made perfect sense in his head.

"Just answer one thing," She started, "when you cancelled our date last time to work on your "project", were you actually working on your project?"

Justin closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to keep himself together just a little bit longer. Lying would get him in trouble, but not lying would also put him in a mess. No win situation. He then swallowed down his fear and whispered, "No…"

A lump was lodged in Alex's throat, and tears that she fought so hard to keep from breaking free were pushing harder against her dam. "I-I can't deal with this," She whispered haggardly."I don't want to see you right now. I need space," She continued, and took off before Justin could see her cry. She flew by the stores and people, everything blurring as tears kept pouring from her eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhhh, don't kill me! Haha! But I think we all saw this one coming, no? And don't think this is the last of Melanie either, she will be back, whether that is a good or bad thing, you'll see. Lol. Also, people wondering where Max is, he'll be in the next chapter! Lol. So, what did you think of the chapter. I loved the opening actually. I wanted to show how Maria was slowly accepting them better. Anyways, pretty lengthy chapter so **PLEASE REVIEW**! Your reviews make me uber happy! :)

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Uniqueinkblots: **So glad you saw the reference. I had last chapter thought of first, so when I saw the opportunity earlier to introduce it, I did! And I hate too emotional chapter without humor. I always like to have a tad of it, if I can. And I know, Alex and Justin are both going through so much right now. And I try to defend Justin as much as I can because everyone keeps bashing Justin! XD I mean, he is messing with Alex, but not intentionally, you know. I know when I'm under stress, I'm all over the place. I often forget the days too so…haha! And wow this was a long response, but thanks so much for reviewing! Lol

**TNT and KC: **Aww thanks! Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily: **Haha, well I already have something set up for the competition, but for the epilogue…maybe. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Tilante: **There is such a lack of Jerry, at least for now, so I felt he should have his nice parenting moment, even though he kinda was more concerned about his pudding, but that's Jerry for ya! Lol! And in mind, the college he goes to, just has one main one, so he def wasn't at a library. Lol Thanks for reviewing!

**Not Just a Nerd: **Are they really getting better? I always feel like they get worse. XD Anyway, thanks buddy! And Max is going to be popping up next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **Justin is under a lot of stress, so I feel it's justified that he forgot. Plus, it's not like he forgot the anniversary, he just forget that the anniversary was that day, if that makes sense…lol. And Jerry with his pudding was a favorite of mine in the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **Alex knows Justin is working hard for her, she just doesn't know how much, which is why she doesn't fully understand why he doesn't have time for her all the time. She soon will though. Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **You will understand why he lied though. In a close future chapter we'll see why he cancelled both dates to be with the partner and everything. Thanks for reviewing!

**KandyForUrMind: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **You'll find out soon where exactly Justin was and why! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **Did they unravel enough in this chapter? Haha! Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Well I guess you now know that the storm was definitely not over. Lol. Poor Alex though, right? And concerning the last chapter, I always feel Justin would be super sweet like that. Haha, and the thing with Max, it's not like he was there there, but yeah. It's hard to explain, but it's subtle and you won't be able to catch it until I reference it. Lol Thanks for reviewing!


	11. Chapter 11

Halfway home, she stopped running. The adrenaline she had had dwindled down, and now her lungs were on fire and her legs felt like lead. Tear streaks were dry on her face as new ones followed in their paths. Her breath was labored from all the running and she just wanted to collapse.

Alex sniffled as she took the sleeve of her shirt to erase the tears, but her eyes were still red, blatantly giving away how upset she was. She looked behind her, trying to see beyond the bodies walking, but Justin wasn't there. He didn't run after her. Not that she thought he would. She _did_ say she wanted some space, and knowing Justin, he would comply.

She sighed as she slowly began to walk her route home again. And as she walked, she found herself replaying what happened at the mall. Over and over. And the more she thought about it, the guiltier she began to feel. She never even let Justin _try_ to explain what was going on. Knowing Justin, he probably _did_ have a good explanation for it all.

Before Alex knew it, she was walking down Waverly Place, pushing herself through the Sub Station doors. Her parents were busy making orders in the back as Harper was filling out an order over in the corner. Alex took that opportunity to run up the spiral stairs before they could see her red rimmed eyes and the misery most likely plastered all over her face.

Answering a bunch of questions about her feelings was not something she was in the mood to do with them right now.

She crashed down on her bed as she entered her room, grabbing a pillow nearby to place in her lap to hug tightly for some comfort. She laid her head on the top of it, breathing slow, long breaths in an effort to calm herself down.

She should have given Justin a chance to talk; a chance to make sense of what was happening, instead of running away.

She tended to run away from a lot of her problems, hoping they would magically disappear, and being who she was, they sometimes-luckily-did, but this was not something she could run away from and pretend to forget. She couldn't just forget Justin blew her off to hang out with his_ female_ project partner. She couldn't forget the way her heart wrenched.

But, when you want something, you have to work at it, even in relationships. Talking about your problems, instead of lashing out and thinking irrationally, was the best way to go about things. Of course, Alex realized that _now_, after already lashing out and making stupid decisions like running off. So, once Justin got home, they would need to have a nice long talk about _everything_. About the dumb blonde, about school, about the competition, and ultimately about them…

And Alex sat there in her bedroom mulling over what to say for a few more hours, but Justin still didn't come home. She even tried to text and call him a few times, but all her efforts proved to be fruitless and she was beginning to worry that something had happened to him, or that he was avoiding her, which she couldn't factor out either. She _did_ probably resemble a more feminine and petite hulk when she left him at the mall. _And_ he probably thought once she got him alone again, that he'd get yelled at or tasered again (which would be funny and self-gratifying to do, but that was beside the point), so she could see why he might delay coming home.

It was getting late though, and Alex was afraid that she would fall asleep and miss Justin's arrival, and ultimately lose the vigor she needed when they did talk about everything. So, she walked over to his room, knowing that if he went anywhere when he came home, it would be his room, and this would be the sure-fire-way to see him.

But as she stared at his plain walls and geeky dolls, her eyes grew heavy and her head fell gently against his pillow as she fell asleep.

…

Alex abruptly woke up early the next morning with a start. She sprang into an upright sitting position as she surveyed the room around her. She was on his still-made, but slightly wrinkled comforter, but the room looked exactly like it had when she fell asleep. Nothing looked to be touched. The door was still firmly shut, all the dolls were still standing erect, and his clothes laid out for today, were still folded perfectly on his dresser.

_He never came in_…. _maybe he slept on the couch._

Alex quickly jumped off the bed and threw Justin's door open wildly as she ran down to the kitchen with a thunderous clank-clank of the steel staircase echoing throughout the room. Finally reaching the end of the stairs, and ignoring the murderous glare coming from her mother, she longingly looked at the orange family room couch, in hopes Justin would be sitting there watching one of his nerdy history channel shows. But to her dismay, only her father was there, deeply engrossed in the cartoon playing.

Alex sadly sighed and slowly trudged to the breakfast island with a pout.

"What's the matter, mija?" Theresa asked, sensing her only daughter was in distress, but still kept her eyes focused on the ingredients she was chopping for her omelet.

Alex opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She didn't want her mother to know her and Justin were fighting, because then she might break down and start complaining about how she knew their relationship would tear the family apart, and really, with everything on Alex's plate, having to deal with her mother's paranoia was not something else she wanted to juggle.

"Nothing," Alex said quickly, but realized it was maybe _too_ quick. She mentally kicked herself in the head. Alex then cleared her throat as she shot a glance towards her mother, before turning her gaze down towards her folded hands. "So…" Alex drawled, "you wouldn't happen to know where Justin is…do you?" Alex asked as nonchalantly as she could muster.

Theresa put down the knife she was using cautiously. Her eyes flickered up to look at her daughter curiously before answering. "He's at Zeke's apartment…He called about it last night. I thought you would have known that…"

She was skeptical. That much Alex could decipher from her answer, but Alex wasn't a natural-born liar for nothing. Smacking herself in the head, and etching a goofy smile on her face as she giggled innocently at her mother, she said, "Ohh yeah! My mind must be somewhere else this morning! I remember now!"

Theresa smiled weakly at Alex, not completely convinced, but not as skeptical as she was a moment before.

"I'm just going to jet on over to Zeke's place," Alex told Theresa as she hiked a thumb over her shoulder, and then started to walk towards the front door. "He asked me to meet him so we could go out to breakfast later," She fibbed as she opened the door, and left before her mother could figure out she was lying.

Making a beeline down the staircase to the door that led to Waverly Place, Alex bumped into Max, who was holding a grocery bag filled high with pudding cups and icecream tubs.

"Why are you up so early?" Alex asked curiously, because seriously, Max almost slept in as late as she did. "And are those for dad?" She continued, gesturing to the bag.

"Do you know where I can find a _really_ big spoon?" Max instead said, ignoring Alex's questions. Alex shook her head slowly, confused no doubt, but decided to not worry about Max's weirdness at the moment, but instead go to Justin.

…

She didn't care that it was just a little past seven in the morning, and that pretty much everyone except old people and Justin were ever willingly up at this time of the day. She pounded violently on Zeke's apartment door for a full minute straight, until someone eventually opened the door; that person of course being Justin.

"_Jeeze_, Alex!" He scolded in a hush tone, opening the door wide enough to view his full body. "People could be sleeping still!

"I don't care!" Alex told him diligently. "Why the hell are you _here_? Why didn't you return any of my calls or texts or freaking come home last night?"

"I was giving you space," Justin answered simply and Alex wished she remembered to bring her wand. He was _soo_ worthy of the stung-gun right now.

"But if I'm trying to contact you, I _obviously_ don't want the space anymore!" She hollered, swatting at Justin in the arm.

Suddenly a door across the hallway opened up; an elderly woman stepping out. "May you please keep your voices down," She asked sweetly, with a small smile.

"Pipe down, grandma!" Alex yelled, glaring at the woman feverishly. The older woman's eyes widened at Alex's remark, but she soon scurried into her apartment without a word.

"_Alex_," Justin stressed her name, obviously displeased with her lack of respect for the elderly woman. Alex merely rolled her eyes, whisking her hand carelessly through the air in indifference.

"Listen," Justin started, running a hand through his hair tiredly. "I wasn't just giving _you_ space. I was giving _me_ space too," he admitted.

Alex gulped. What Justin said didn't seem to settle well with Alex. "What-What do you mean?"

"Alex…I love you, but you were right…" He trailed off to rub the back of his neck. "We need time apart. We need space. I mean, we have been with each other since the day you were born. I think it would benefit us, together, if we knew what it was like to live without each other for a little bit…"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Alex quietly asked, her voice cracking and watered down.

"No, no," Justin assured her, "but I think we should take this time to find ourselves through all of this. I mean, it's always been 'Justin and Alex' this and 'Justin and Alex' that, don't you ever wonder what it would be like if it was just Justin or just Alex?"

"No!" Alex exclaimed defiantly. "I already know that I don't want to live without you…" A tear fell from her eye, and she could feel herself crumbling under his watch. "Justin…please don't do this…"

Justin had to shift his gaze downwards, not being able to face a crying Alex directly. It _was_ his kryptonite, after all. And he could feel his own eyes beginning to burn, wanting to let out fresh tears themselves. He could feel her hurting, but this needed to be done.

"I'm just saying that, how can we know who we are as a couple, when we barely know who we are as individuals? If anything, this 'space' will bring us closer, and make us appreciate each other more," Justin rationalized.

Alex wiped away the falling tears, trying to muffle her cries from surfacing. "How long?" She shortly asked.

"Maybe until the end of my semester?" Justin answered, shrugging off-handedly.

"But that's almost two months or so from now!" Alex said as an outburst.

"I know…" Is all Justin said as he fidgeted nervously in his place against the door.

Alex's face scrunched up in disgust. "_So, what_? Are we just going to ignore each other at home?"

"I'm going to stay here with Zeke," Justin answered in a drone-like voice, his eyes still trained on the ugly hallway carpet.

"And what am I supposed to tell mom and dad when they ask why you you're not home?"

"You're the queen of lies, make something up," He responded.

The fact that he sounded so calm and collected began to piss Alex the hell off. It was now masking and overpowering the sadness she felt, which Alex could happily live with at the moment since it was the only thing stopping her from crying anymore tears than she had. "Fine, asshole!" Alex sneered as her goodbye, stomping furiously down the hall without a backward glance.

Justin huffed out a breath of relief as he watched Alex walk away. She had taken it _a lot_ better than he had predicted. He had only rehearsed this conversation in his head the whole night before, and it always ended up him kneeling down on the floor, holding his manhood protectively. Thankfully, and surprisingly, it didn't come to that.

Truthfully, when Alex first said she needed her space, he was devastated. He thought that she was going to break up with him for sure, and he didn't know how he was going to deal with it. He started thinking about what his life would be like without her, but then he realized he really couldn't. He couldn't because he never _did_ live without her his whole life -at least for what he can remember. She was always there. So, could he really not live without Alex? Or did he just think he couldn't because it's always been that way? His mind was in tangles, but he was dying to know, even if he already knew the answer. Plus, how could he properly cherish Alex's presence when her being around is all he's ever known. He just wanted to make sure that, for a fact, he couldn't live without her. So, like any good scientist, he decided to test it.

And now watching the last bit of Alex turn the corner down the long hall, Justin sadly sighed. Was he making a mistake? Maybe. But in his heart he felt that this was a step they needed to take. It's just that right now, he also needed to focus on just himself. Justin and Justin only. He needed to get through this semester of college without killing himself. That meant not having to worry about his parents' nagging him to do something, or Max plotting something evil, or even Alex, and how much attention she seemed to need from him lately. He just wanted to be able to have time for his school work and time for his magic, because living in his house, with _his_ family, made all of it very difficult to do.

All the drama circling around the wizard competition and his relationship with Alex, was adding more stress onto Justin like you couldn't believe. He felt like he was drowning in all the stress, and all he wanted to do was drain some of the water to make it out alive. Was that so bad? It wasn't like leaving home made him entirely happy. Sure he would miss his family,_ especially_ Alex, but you gotta do what you gotta do. You have to make sacrifices. Desperate times call for desperate measures. You have to look at the bigger picture; a picture he hoped that showed a happy ending.

Shutting the door shut, and mentally noting to give the elderly lady in B4 a sorry-for-my-obnoxious-girlfriend gift, Justin turned around to find Zeke staring at him with wide eyes. His wacky friend parted his lips to speak, but instead his body tilted backwards, fainting.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright…don't kill me or Justin! Lol. And don't give up hope here either! Next chapter, Melanie is going to be back, and also we will FINALLY get to see what Max is cooking up! And I guess Zeke just inadvertently found out about Jalex, so we have his full reaction to look forward to too. Next chapter looks big…lol! PLEASE REVIEW! :D

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Luvable101: **So glad to hear you like it so far! And you'll see what Max is up to next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**Emily: **Emily…did you review twice? LMAO! I love it though and thank you so much for saying this story is one of your favorites. It means a lot to me. :) And we will definitely see what Max has been doing next chapter, I promise! Thanks so much for reviewing…twice! XD

**TNT and KC: **Thanks for reviewing! So for the delay!

**IfOnlyLifeWasAFairytale: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Xxvannyazz: **Haha, I didn't want to cause Theresa to get a heart attack! Of course you would think that though! XD Thanks for reviewing, vanny!

**Not Just a Nerd: **We'll find out what Justin was doing with Melanie next chapter when we see Melanie again. :D Thanks for reviewing, buddy!

**Hmmm: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Dalenalove: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Uniqueinkblots: **Thanks for reviewing, and btw, totally off topic, but I love your username! Lol.

**Tilante: **We'll find out what Justin and Melanie were doing next chapter. And glad to see you thought they were still very in character. Since these two aren't often upset and emotional like this, it's hard to tell how they would handle such situations. Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **You'll see about Justin and Melanie and what they were doing next chapter. ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **haha, yay! I confused you! XD You won't be so confused after the next chapter though. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Max is _definietely _going to add more chaos to Justin and Alex's life. Lol. And thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Aww, thanks. I once again thank you for all the nice things you've said. It really makes me happy to see someone enjoys my writing and this story so much. :) And yes, the storm between Justin and Alex has reached its peak, but that also should mean it can't get any worse though, right? ;) And I love rants, so don't worry! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**KandyForUrMind: **Thanks for reviewing!


	12. Chapter 12

Justin hissed as he watched Zeke hit the hardwood floor. He quickly scrambled to get ice and then hurried over to his best friend's side. He squatted down, placing the ice where he saw Zeke's head make contact. With his free hand, Justin gently shook him, calling his name.

"Whoa…" Zeke weakly said as his eyes blinked open a minute later. He went to lift his head, but then immediately put it back to its original position as a wave of pain overtook him. "Oww," He groaned.

"Are you okay, Zeke?" Justin asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Zeke breathlessly replied. He then started to chuckle. "_Man_…" He started, "I had this weird little dream where I _swore _I heard you talking to your sister Alex out in the hallway, talking like-ahh nahh."

Justin licked his lips then nervously swallowed. "Like what?"

"Well…like you were together, you know, like boyfriend and girlfriend." He began to lightly laugh at the thought. "Crazy, right?"

"Zeke…" Justin said hesitantly, "that actually did happen."

Justin watched Zeke's laugh quickly subside and his face go pale white. And before Justin could say any more, Zeke's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted again.

Justin wretchedly sighed. "This is gonna take a while."

…

Alex stormed through the Sub Station, harshly causing the doors to bang against the walls and seeking the curiosity from many of the customers. "_What?_" She asked her watchers, annoyed. Many of them turned their heads, while others lingered a little longer.

Abruptly, Theresa walked out of the kitchen and over to Alex with a broad smile on her face. "How was breakfast with Justin?" She questioned kindly.

"Oh…uh…fine," Alex mumbled, beginning to walk towards the counter, hoping her mother would find something better to do than press the subject any more.

"Where's Justin now?" Theresa then asked, and Alex groaned. Today was just _not_ her day.

"He's at Zeke's," Alex answered flatly.

"Oh, well, will he be home for dinner?"

"Don't think so," Alex bitterly remarked.

"Did you guys get into a fight?" Theresa asked, finally noting the tone in her daughter's voice.

"_Nooo_," Alex guaranteed, quickly exploring her head for suitable lies. "But…um…Zeke, yes Zeke, he…um…needs a roommate or he can't live at his place anymore, so…Justin is going to live there until Zeke can find a replacement…yeah, that's it," Alex lied, smiling briefly to sell the lie efficiently.

"Oh…I wish he would have told us about this. I don't know how I feel about my mijo living somewhere else…" Theresa commented worriedly, frowning.

"It's really a new occurrence," Alex said, which truth be told, was the actual truth. "Zeke told him about it last night when he stayed over."

"Wait-" Jerry said, poking his head out from the connecting side window. "Justin moved out? Is he still coving his shifts here though? I mean, I really don't want to have to hire another employee and actually have to pay them minim-"

Theresa cleared her throat noisily to gain the attention of her husband, signaling to him with a small glare that now was not a good time to be talking about his cheap ways.

Jerry quickly changed his demeanor to faux sadness. "I-I mean…I'll really miss him."

Yeah…he wasn't the only one.

…

Two weeks trudged by, and Alex had yet to talk or see Justin since the morning after the mall incident. Every time she tried to call, the phone would ring until it eventually reached Justin's voicemail. It stung to think Justin was taking this 'space' thing so seriously. Was he not dying to hear her voice like she was dying for his? It almost felt like when Justin shut her out the first time, right after they confessed their feelings for each other. Except this time, she didn't get to accidentally run into him in the kitchen, or overhear him talking to Max; she had nothing now.

And of course their parents were suspicious. They were always asking why Justin wasn't visiting or why he rarely called to check in. All Alex could ever muster up was a half shrug and say that he was busy. And in order to play along with the charade that everything was_ just_ _dandy_, she had to find stupid things to do every weekend because she was supposed to be spending time with Justin.

This weekend Alex managed to talk Harper into going to the mall, telling her parents they were meeting the boys for a double-date. Harper was in the loop in what was actually happening, like she always was. Plus, if Alex didn't have anyone to talk to this about, she would eventually combust.

However, as the two girls approached the mall, Alex froze. She had thought she would be okay with it, but her heart aching at the building, and the last memory she had there, said otherwise.

Harper, picking up on her best friend's hesitation, opted to go somewhere else for the day, but Alex wouldn't have it. She couldn't avoid a place like the mall for the rest of this 'space' thing. Plus, shopping until she dropped, or maxed out Jerry's credit card, always felt like the best medicine for when she was down.

And that's exactly what they did. They went to several stores, trying on clothes and buying many of them too. Well, _Alex _was doing most of the buying, since Harper preferred to make her own clothes, but that fact didn't stop her from trying some on. They only stopped when they realized they still had to walk home, and too many bags would be a killer to carry.

Before leaving though, they decided to get something to eat at the food court. And after purchasing their salads and finding a place to eat, they began to talk.

"So…how's Justin?" Alex asked nervously in-between bites.

Harper was the inside person for Alex. She would casually ask Zeke how Justin was doing for her. But as much as Alex always wanted to hear it, she was just as scared. It had only been two weeks, but Justin was in college, away from home, and who knew what could happen. They technically weren't broken up, but did that mean they still couldn't see other people? Alex found herself stressing over these questions a lot lately. And she dreaded that one day Harper would tell her Justin went out on a date or had a girl over.

"Same old, same old," Harper replied. "Zeke said he's either locked in his room working on school work or out working on magic."

Alex happily sighed. All was still well, relatively, of course.

"Alex?" A foreign voice rang from behind Alex.

The brunette whirled her head around to view a bubbly, blonde stranger with mile-wide-smile plastered on her face. "Uhh…yeah?" Alex responded cautiously, trying to figure out who this chick was exactly, and more importantly, how they knew her.

"It's me, Melanie," The girl further assisted, but Alex's memory was still drawing blanks. Melanie seemed to sense Alex's confusion. "You know, Justin's project partner…"

Suddenly, Alex's eyes glazed over and she could clearly see it was, in fact, the dumb blonde from the coffee shop those few short weeks ago. _How dare she be all buddy-buddy with me?_ And what the hell, did she _live_ at the mall or something?

"Oh…yeah…," Alex tightly spoke with a low growl under the surface.

Melanie's features brightened at the recognition. "So, how are you and Justin?"

"_Peachy_," Alex stressed. "But you see him. Shouldn't you know that?"

"Actually…" Melanie said, trailing off. She took the liberty to sit down at the table, earning a murderous glare from Alex, not that Melanie noticed, evidently. "I was hoping you would know why he's been avoiding me…"

Alex's head drew back in shock. She wasn't expecting that. "He's avoiding you?"

"Yeah," Melanie answered. "Ever since we met up at the mall a few weeks ago, he hasn't said two words to me. Did I do something wrong? Is it about your gift?"

And _damn_! Now the dumb blonde was making Alex feel bad for her. She looked so wounded, something Alex felt she could relate with at the moment. "Sorry, I don't know why he is ignoring you, but trust me when I tell you that Justin is very hard to figure out sometimes…wait-gift?"

"Yeah, your anniversary gift that Justin got you. I suggested that he should buy you jewelry for your 6th month anniversary, especially since I work at one of the jewelry shops in the mall and could help him out," She blonde pointed out. "I really hope he's not mad at me because of the gift because I've already apologized a million times. It wasn't my fault that it got backordered!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Alex hollered, interrupting the blonde. "So, when Justin met up with you at the coffee shop, he was picking up a gift for me?"

Melanie laughed. "Of course, silly. What did you think?"

"Heh…" _obviously not that._

"_So_…how did you like the gift? He took forever picking it out and everything!" Melanie gushed. Alex then noticed Melanie's eyes scanning her. Melanie's features scrunched up in confusion. "You're-You're not wearing it?" She questioned.

Alex gapped. "Well…you see…" Alex stuttered.

"Oh, no!" Melanie exclaimed, slapping herself on the forehead. "He didn't give it to you yet, did he? Gahh! I'm so stupid! All that work to keep it a secret and I blew it! Please don't tell him I told you!"

"Whoa, calm down there, little blondie," And wow, now she feels like Mr. Laritate for some reason. "I won't tell Justin anything."

"Oh, thank you, Alex!" The blonde exclaimed, reaching across the table to hug Alex uncomfortably.

"But now I feel like an idiot…" Alex murmured under her breath. Of course Justin was being his typical wonderful self. Why would she think, for even a _second_, that he would be cheating on her?

Apparently, Alex didn't murmur it low enough because the blonde quirked up her eyebrow in wonder. Her eyes questioning as she pulled away from the hug.

"I-I kinda accused him of cheating on me…" Alex admitted sheepishly.

"What?" Melanie said as an outburst. "Justin would never cheat on you!"

"I know, I know, I know…" Alex commented, laying her head down low in embarrassment.

"I mean, I don't think I've ever heard a guy talk so much about his girlfriend before, and it was always good things!" Melanie remarked. "At first, it was annoying, but I soon learned he was just really head-over-heels in love with you and couldn't help it. I thought it was so sweet. He'd never cheat on you, Alex."

Alex eyes softened as she heard what Melanie said, but then shot the girl daggers. "You know, you're really not making me feel better! I already feel guilty!"

"Sorry," Melanie quickly apologized. "But he really does care for you though. He always felt guilty about not seeing you enough. He's really working himself hard for you. I think he's taking close to double the amount of classes he should be…"

Alex then gave the blonde a dry look, joisting her hands up in the air dramatically. "_Really?_"

"Right, right…_not_ helping…" Melanie said to herself, getting what Alex was trying to convey.

Melanie rose from the table. "I'm sorry you got the wrong impression about what Justin and I were doing. I hope I didn't screw things up for you two, too bad. He loves you a lot though, so I'm sure it'll be fine," Melanie said genuinely, offering a small smile to Alex, before leaving the food court area.

"So, now that you know the truth, what are you doing to do?" Harper, who had been silent the entire duration Melanie was there, asked.

Alex bit her lip. "I need to see Justin."

…

After Harper, gratefully, took all of Alex's bags, Alex ran towards Zeke's apartment building, since it wasn't too far.

As she bounded in the building, running down the few hallways she had to, she stopped at Zeke's apartment door, gasping for breath. She took a moment to compose herself before knocking lightly on the door.

Quickly, the door opened up and Alex smiled in anticipation to see Justin, but it soon faded when Zeke came into view. Disappointed, Alex went on her tip-toes to look beyond Zeke to spot Justin, but she didn't see anyone else. "Hey, Zeke. Is Justin here?"

Zeke awkwardly cleared his throat, refusing to meet her eyes for some reason. "Um…no…he-he's not here. I think he said something about going to the Wizard Gym?" Zeke told Alex, but he didn't seem so sure himself.

"Oh," Alex whispered sadly. She then bid Zeke goodbye and walked out of the building, contemplating on what to do next. He was probably at the Wizard Gym training and working on spells for the competition. So, that's where she had to go because she needed to talk to him. She needed him to understand just how stupid she was being, and that if she could take it back, she would because now she fully realized exactly what he was putting himself through for her.

Too impatient to walk home, she flashed herself to the lair. However, once she landed, she immediately bumped right into Max, who was holding a glass filled high with a brown substance.

"What's that?" Alex immediately questioned.

Proudly, Max held the glass high with a smile. "I'm finally done my experiment!"

"Why were you doing an experiment to begin with?" Alex questioned. It had seriously been bugging her since he said it.

"You know how Justin made that freaky 'helping hand' thing?" Max asked. Alex nodded, remembering it. "Well…Justin gained an extra level in the wizard competition for it. So, I created a new potion for wizards and mortals alike. Hopefully, it'll put me up a level too."

"What's it do?" Alex asked, eyeing the weird, muddy substance in the glass.

"It's supposed to make people feel younger inside. Like you know how old people are always complaining something hurts, well, this is supposed to get rid of the aches and pains by reducing their internal age…I think…"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Does it work?"

"Don't know…" Max said, scratching his head. Alex snorted. Typical Max. He spent the last month or so making a potion that might not even work or be a potion at all.

Alex snatched the glass, and walked out into the kitchen with it.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Max asked, running after her.

"Getting rid of it," Alex answered evenly, making her way to the sink, but Max grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

"I worked hard on that, Alex! You can't just put it down the drain!" Max said, struggling to get the glass out of his sister's hands.

"It probably doesn't even work, and even it does, I don't need you hurting me and Justin's chances even more!" Alex hollered.

"Urghh, stop arguing!" Jerry whined as he and Theresa entered the kitchen, sweating profoundly. "We just walked around the block. Woo!" He said, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. "It took a lot of out us! My back is killing me."

"My legs feel all sore!" Theresa added, frowning from the feeling.

In desperation for something to drink, Jerry snatched the drink that his kids were fighting over and swallowed down a sip. He then handed it over to his wife, who also took a sip.

Both of the Max and Alex eyes grew wide as they realized what their parents just did. "Mom! Dad!"

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhh, so the parents drank Max's experiment/potion! What will happen next? And I know I didn't really touch too much on Zeke's reaction, but it will come up again. And, I know one or two of you guessed Melanie's intentions correctly, so WooHoo for you! So, PLEASE REVIEW!

Also, how did you guys like 'Justin's Back In" with the hug and such. I loved we finally got some jalex again!

**REVIEW REPLY:**

**Yoshiman777: **Sorry for making you wait. Lol. But thanks for reviewing!

**Ekokage: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Tilante: **It's definitely an absence makes the heart grow fonder thing. I'll touch more on how much Justin is really missing Alex next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **Justin's reason is pretty valid though, even though I'd probably want to kill him myself. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **SO sorry I made you wait so long! Lol! So glad you liked the last chapter and thanks for reviewing!

**MarsBar13: **Haha, well I don't if Max is helping the wizard competition problem with his potion lol, but he's not the bad guy in this. You'll see. And we'll see more of Zeke's reaction to all of this at some other time. Probably next chapter? Thanks for reviewing!

**DaColombianSmurf: **I am cooking up something special for Jalex, so don't worry too much about them. Lol. And I can't live without the internet either, so I don't know how you did it! But I am so glad you are reading again and thanks so much for reviewing!

**Luvable101: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **Yeah, you feel bad for both. I was trying to make you want to hate the other, but also sympathize with both as well. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **Umm, in BIF they were going to have a date and he never showed up because he was taken by TJ. With this, Alex wasn't exactly waiting for Justin like that. I really don't think it is anything like what happened with BIF, especially since Justin isn't turning into a dog…idk… Thanks for reviewing though!

**1405Smiley0514: **lol, we'll figure out exactly why Max had all that sweet food next chapter. XD Sorry it took so long! Thanks for reviewing though!

**Unknown: **Well, we already know the space between Jalex is going over well with Alex. Next chapter we'll see more of Justin's side of things. And I hope a lot of questions were answered this chapter for you! Thanks for reviewing!


	13. Chapter 13

Jerry licked his lips, trying to pinpoint the taste. "Tastes almost like a milkshake, but the texture is a bit off…wait – is that my pudding I taste? Mmm!"

Jerry went to take the glass away from his wife to have another sip, but Max quickly snatched the drink as Alex hollered out a warning.

"What?" Jerry questioned. "What does a guy have to do to get something to drink in his own shop?"

Timidly, as she watched her parents carefully, Alex asked, "Are you guys feeling alright?"

Jerry cocked an eyebrow upwards in confusion. "Yeah…" He spoke slowly. He turned to his wife who also gave a nod that she was okay too. "Why?"

"Well…"Alex started, "it's funny really…you see, you just drank a potion that Max made –"

"What?" Jerry and Theresa both yelled in concern and shock, immediately checking over themselves for changes of any kind. "Was it safe? Will it do anything? Who will take after the shop?" Jerry frantically hollered as he continued to think of all the worse outcomes.

Max crossed his arms. "Not sure if it's supposed to do what I wanted it to do…it's supposed to make you feel younger inside and ease your body… but honestly I just through a bunch of things together!" Max admitted with a hearty laugh.

Theresa then held up her hand, signaling for her family's attention. "Now that you mention it, Max, my legs don't hurt anymore…" She commented in amazement as her face spread out into a wide smile.

"And my back actually feels great now that I think about it," Jerry observed as he rotated his body left and right, testing how sensitive it was, only to find that the pain he had earlier was miraculously gone.

Jerry's face spread out into a grin. "This is some amazing stuff, Max. Good job, buddy," He sincerely said to his youngest as he clasped a hand on his son's shoulder. "The Wizard Council is going to be really impressed with this, son."

"Awesome!" Max exclaimed. Jerry then ushered Max into the main eating area to discuss the potion and how to prepare it for a future Council's viewing.

Alex sighed as she leaned against the sink, folding her arms over each other in distress.

"Everything alright, mija?" Theresa asked, causing Alex to jump. She surely thought her mother followed the guys into the next room.

Alex bit her lip, wondering whether she should finally spill to her mother what was really going on between her and Justin, or to just suck it up. Alex fought and fought, but the words seemed to tumble out of her mouth on their own accord. "Justin and I aren't exactly talking…"

Theresa huffed out a breath of resignation. She then took a few steps towards her only daughter, the clang of her heels hitting the title floors of the kitchen. "Oh, mija…" She said sympathetically as she embraced Alex. "What happened?" She then questioned softly.

Alex ransacked her brain for the perfect explanation, but couldn't think of a single phrase to sum up what happened. "Just a bunch of misunderstandings I guess," Alex eventually answered. "Now he wants some time to himself so he can focus solely on school and the competition."

Theresa nodded her head in understanding. "I think that's smart…"

Alex sidestepped out of her mother's embrace. "Taking his side I see," She remarked bitterly as she stood with her back facing Theresa.

"I'm not taking anyone's side, but Justin is under a lot of pressure and I think it was finally making him crack. It's hard to balance family, friends, school, a girlfriend, and an impending wizard competition, especially with all the attention each need from him," Theresa stated.

Alex stayed silent, letting her mother's words dissolve inside her brain.

One clang of a heel after another echoed off the kitchen walls, until Alex felt Theresa's presence right behind her.

Alex slowly turned around to face her mother. "I know, I know, I _know_ he's been working himself hard and that he was doing most of this for me – us –but that doesn't stop me from missing him, you know?"

Theresa smiled affectionately at her daughter's words. "He'll come around, mija. He always does. If there is one thing I've learned about you two it's that no one can keep you apart…not even each other." She gave Alex a small wink before leaving to join Max and Jerry into the next room.

Alex smiled to herself. What her mother said was true. They needed each other. They completed each other. But she still needed to see him to apologize. _Yes_, apologize. Even if he didn't come back home right afterwards, he still had the right to hear her apology. She had been blaming him for everything, but maybe, just maybe, she was the one to blame. Instead of whining and complaining, she should have realized things so much more important than watching a movie was going on. She needed to make amends of somewhat to try to stitch up the ripped fabric of their relationship before Justin realized just how much of an ungrateful bitch she was and eventually dump her.

She needed to be supportive of his wishes like he always was to hers. It was finally time for things to go full circle; to have the relationship be a give and take instead of a she takes and takes, but he only gives.

…

After stepping into the wizard world and hailing a flying carpet taxi, Alex shortly found herself outside an enormous building that had a huge neon sign labeled "Wizard Gym" on it.

Reluctantly, Alex pushed through the doors. The smell of sweat and bad body odor lingered heavy in the air, making Alex scrunch up her nose in distaste.

"Alex!" A familiar voice called out to her, and as she turned her head towards the voice, she realized it was none other than Hugh Normous.

"Hugh?" Alex said in disbelief as she walked over to where the her old WizTech classmate stood. "Don't tell me you're here to work out?"

The boy snorted, and then used his index finger to push up his extra-small glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He was the same old Hugh since the last time she saw him. "Oh, no!" Hugh assured her, his tone letting on that he thought it would be just as ridiculous as she did. "I work here though."

Alex nodded her head, but still didn't understand how he could still be an employee at such a place. If anyone would need help, he wasn't exactly the best choice for assistance. Clearing her throat and shaking her head, she asked Hugh if he had seen Justin around.

"Oh yeah! He's in usual spot," He told her.

"Usual spot?" Alex questioned surprisingly. "Is he here often?"

Hugh snorted again. "Is he here often?" He outrageously mimicked. "He's only here like all the time!"

"He is? Doing what?" Alex questioned back, furrowing her brow.

"He's in the competition simulation room," He answered back, starting to guide Alex to the designated area. "At first he was just coming in during late nights, but the past few weeks he's been here like half the day."

"Half the day?" Alex exclaimed, worrying.

Hugh nodded as he stopped in-front of a huge steel door; the shape similar to the wizard-world door in the lair. "He's in here," Hugh said, hiking his thumb over his shoulder towards the door.

"Can I see him?" Alex asked, eager to see him after so long.

"I can _show_ you him, but I'm afraid that the door can only be unlocked from the occupant, unless in emergency, since these simulations can get pretty wild!"

Alex rolled her eyes, but asked Hugh to literally show her him. Hugh complied, turning the door transparent so Alex could look in on Justin's training.

The room inside resembled the ancient stadium from Puerto Rico. He was clad in the same black and purple uniform and running towards the same looking orb of magic. Numerous duplicate dummies stood in his way, and one by one he shot them down with various spells. And although all of it looked very impressive, Alex noticed the pool of sweat pouring down his face. She saw the heavy bags under his eyes, and they were so much worse than the last time he had them. His aim was accurate, because he _was_ Justin, but she noticed it took him a fraction longer to lift up his wand each time and that his pace was becoming clumsier; his body was on the verge of collapsing. She had to do something!

"He's going to pass out!" Alex hollered, as she watched in fright. "Open the door!" She demanded fiercely.

"But I can't!" Hugh whined. "Only emergencies!"

Alex shot him a nasty glare and fisted her hand into the fabric of his shirt. "This_ is_ an emergency, Hugh! Open up that door _right now_!" Alex threatened pointedly.

With scared, wide eyes, Hugh obeyed.

The door slid open, and as Alex stepped in the room, Justin neared the magical sphere, grasping it in his hands desperately. Alex could make out that he was lightly smiling from his triumph, and she half wondered that maybe she overreacted.

The sphere then vanished; simulation over.

As the faux orb disappeared, Justin fell to his hands and knees. Alex's heart erratically thumped against her chest as she took off into a sprint, her fears reigniting.

She was quickly at his side, taking a hold of his shoulders. His whole body was shaking and heaving, but Alex had no idea what to do, so she opted to rubbing circles along his back, hoping it would help calm him down.

"A-A-Alex?" He hoarsely questioned, his voice dry and thin. He was still vastly out of breath.

"Yes, it's me. Just focus on calming down first," Alex told him, pushing his sweaty, drenched hair out of his face. He vaguely nodded, at least she thinks he did, but it could have been the shaking for all she knew.

She waited patiently as he regained his breath and his body stopped trembling. Wobbly and slow, with a little of Alex's guidance, Justin stood to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Justin then asked, bewildered.

"I had to talk to you and Zeke said you were here," Alex answered calmly. "But the real question is: What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?" She yelled at him, slapping him on the arm to emphasis just how upset she was.

"_No_," Justin said pointedly, rubbing the spot on his arm where she hit him. "I'm making sure we will the competition!"

"But the way you're doing it is too dangerous!"

"Oh, like I should be really taking advice from you of all people!" Justin retorted, walking past her now to exit the simulation room. "What do you want?"

Alex scurried after him, trying to keep up with his slightly longer paces. "I was coming to apologize, but now I'm not so sure I want to, since you obviously have something up your ass!"

Justin piloted around sharply, causing Alex to bump right into his chest. "Apologize? Apologize for what?" Justin inquired curiously.

Alex bit her lip. These sorts of things were not in her area of expertise, but she was pretty amazing at winging it in situations, well, sometimes.

She sighed, moving her gaze to the patch of grass by her feet. "I realize now that I _might_ have overreacted at the mall… and that I should have let you explain. I know you're intentions are always good and I shouldn't have doubted you. _Plus_, I just wanted to let you know that I'm no longer mad at you and support you in your…_'space' _thing."

Justin smiled a genuine smile. "Apology accepted…" Alex slowly lifted her head to catch Justin's gaze. She involuntarily smiled at him; a hope igniting within her that maybe everything will work itself out in time. Heck maybe he would be willing to come home with her now if she asked. "But I'm still not coming home, you know?" He responded, smirking at the end of his statement, knowing he read Alex's mind perfectly.

Alex scowled, but laughed. "I figured, but who's to say I couldn't wish?" They both smiled forlornly at the other. "I miss you," Alex suddenly said, her voice pained from sadness and longing.

Justin scrunched up his face in an effort to refrain from showing too much emotion. He needed to ride this out, no matter how much he missed Alex. He needed to be focused, and nothing against Alex, but it was kinda hard to concentrate on school and the competition with her being the beautiful, conniving creature she was.

"You should probably go…"

"Yeah…" Alex lamented, sighing as she walked away.

* * *

**A/N: **AHHHHH, so long time no update, huh? Is anyone still with me here? Sooo sorry it took me so long to update, but school sucks like that, you know? I've been SUPER busy with everything in my life, but I promise this fic will be finished! I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging anymore. Justin's side still hasn't been written, so that'll most likely be in the next chapter! So thoughts on this chapter? :)

Also, who say the episode "Wizards of Apartment 13B" and who say that little Jalex moment! Awww! It was so nice to have a real, concrete moment between them. They complete each other's lives. Lol

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**French 7: "**Apartment 13B" was so great! And aww, thanks for saying that it reminded you of my stories and whatnot. Lol. Thanks for reviewing too!

**Xxvannyazz: **Well, I had planned for the whole apartment thing with Zeke and Justin before I found out Alex and Harper were going to be getting their own in the show. Lol. I always thought Justin would be the one with the Apartment first though since he is older. Thanks for reviewing!

**YourMother: **Now…sorry for the wait, mom! XD Thanks for reviewing!

**Rrrrrrrrrr: **Sorry for the wait! Hope you liked the new chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**JazzyKanani: **Max really has gotten really good-looking. Lol. So glad you liked "baby it's fact" and are liking this one too. Hopefully this chapter didn't disappoint! Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **I loved "Justin's Back In". It reminded me a lot of the earlier seasons almost. Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **haha, I noticed that too! The whole class comes running in and she says "Justin!" because obviously Justin is her hero ;) Thanks for reviewing!

**Uniqueinkblots: **haha, so many people thought Melanie was the bad person, which you were supposed to think, but I like to throw people off a lot. Lol. Thank for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **Don't feel too bad for hating Melane! Almost everyone else did too! How were you supposed to know? Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: ** We all want to see more Jalex. Lol. It'll be sooner than you think. :) Thanks for reviewing!

**DaColombianSmurf: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **Max mixing things with magic is never a good thing. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Luvable101: **Aww, so glad you were so excited about the last chapter! Lol! So sorry to keep you waiting on this one though. :( Thanks for reviewing though! :)


	14. Chapter 14

Alex ushered through the lair doors, her shoulders slumped downwards, as well as her lips. She knew he wasn't going to come back home, but actually hearing him say it depressed Alex. She just wanted to curl up in her room and sleep for the moment. However, Jerry noticed Alex's moody behavior when she entered the subshop and gently called out to his only daughter. She begrudgingly walked to her father, crossing her arms as she stopped in-front of him.

"What's the matter, pumpkin?" Jerry asked, throwing his arm around Alex's shoulders, trying to comfort her. He hated to see his little girl so upset.

Alex hiked up an eyebrow at her father, mentally saying to him, 'Pumpkin, really? Is it suddenly the '90s again?' Though what she said out-loud was, "Nothing…"

"Come on," Jerry prodded, "You can tell me."

Alex sighed. Her mother probably already told her dad about Justin. "I miss Justin," She admitted.

"Why?" Jerry questioned, a silly smile emerging on his face, as if the thought was a laughable one.

"Mom didn't tell you? Justin moved out so that he could have some space from everything…mainly me…"

Jerry's face scrunched up. "Wait…Justin moved out? Ohh, that's right…he did…with Zeke, right?" Alex nodded. "Well, don't worry about it, honey. Things happen for a reason. It'll be alright in the end."

Alex smiled meekly towards her father. "Thanks, dad."

She sure hopes so.

…

The next day Alex was up and at her latest antics again as she served people at the substation. What? She wasn't like that _Twilight_ girl. She's Alex. It's like impossible for her to sit in her room, waiting for her love to come back. Truthfully, it's kinda pathetic, and _extremely boring_. Plus, pranks and practical jokes are just the thing she needs to get her mind off of Justin.

"_Alex_," Theresa stressed heavily with impatience. "I thought I told you to stop stealing the customer's food when they aren't looking and to also stop adding red food dye to the mustard to make it look like ketchup!"

Alex merely giggled. Watching someone else suffering was a lot more entertaining.

"And when did you start dressing like that?" She inquired, sizing up Alex's current attire. "It seems way too girly for you…I thought you were into all those funky colored, layered clothing stuff."

Alex gave her mother a baffled look. "_Yeah_, like _three_ years ago!" Alex commented fiercely.

Theresa's face was void for a moment before her face reached a state of recognition. "Oh, oh, right…time sure does fly, huh?" She said, smiling uneasily. "Where's Justin? He should be working too?"

"He's…" Alex swallowed, not quite comfortable to discuss Justin at the moment, since yesterday's events were still raw. "he's still not here…"

"Where is he?"

Alex sent Theresa another incredulous look. "Seriously, mom? Are you alright? You know Justin is living with Zeke right now…"

Now it was Theresa's turn to give Alex an incredulous look. "What? When did he think about telling us this? He's not ready to live with Zeke! He's not even graduated from High School yet!"

"Mom…Justin graduated from high school last year…" Alex slowly told the older Latina woman.

Theresa's face scrunched in confusion. "Oh…yeah-yeah…right…" She said, unconvincingly, before leaving to go into the back.

Something was _veryyy_ off here, Alex concluded. Without even thinking, Alex took out her phone and dialed Justin. "Pick up, pick up, pick up!" Alex whispered to herself as the phone continued to ring. Once Justin's voicemail started playing she hung up, however.

Alex sighed. She didn't want to keep calling Justin, especially if their mother was just extremely tired or something. I mean, it happens to their dad all the time. If he doesn't get his proper sleep, you're lucky if he remembers he has kids.

Plus, she was trying to give Justin space. Nothing was too out of the ordinary. Her parents were known for forgetting a birthday or two, plus they were old. Isn't memory loss linked to being that old?

It's probably nothing.

…

A few days later:

_Running full force ahead, Justin's eyes are on the glowing prize. He can feel the soft padding of the grass under his feet with every stride he takes towards the family's powers. The feeling of invisibility engulfs him as he reaches closer._

_Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, a string of magic flies his way, and he sidesteps it just before it hits him. Still sprinting, Justin looks beside him to see where the magic came from and it's from none other than Max._

_Justin sends his own spell towards Max, but his wand doesn't seem to be working anymore. Justin slaps the wand against his hand a few times, but magic will not come out of it. Perplexed, Justin keeps running, trying to avoid Max's spells as best as he can without the aid of magic_

_They are inching closer and closer. They are neck and neck. He's just a few more feet from becoming the family wizard, when he hears a feminine scream behind him. It can only be one person. _

_Without thinking, Justin stops abruptly and turns around. He sees Alex lying down in the grass, seemingly helpless. She then starts to flicker like a candle; also fading more and more with each flicker._

"_No! Alex!" Justin hollers, outstretching his hand in exasperation, only to notice that, he too, was beginning to flicker and fade. "No," He says more quietly, to himself now._

_Suddenly, he felt like a part of him was ripped out from inside him. The unexpected feeling caused him to fall to his knees in agony and cry out similarly the way Alex did moments before._

_Justin looked over to see that Max had already been entitled the family wizard and was smirking from ear to ear with pride._

_Justin looked back at Alex, who was almost nothing more than an outline, and with as must gusto as he can muster, he cries out for his brother's assistance. Something was seriously wrong with Alex and himself, and it wasn't just because their powers were taken from them for all eternity, either. _

"_Oh, right, the mess, I'll fix the mess…" Max began, twirling his wand, trying to think of a spell to help. Then he too started to flicker. "Justin, I think we're too late…"_

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Justin screamed as he sprang awake. Breathing heavily with wild eyes; he could feel sweat gliding off his forehead. His fingers were gripping the sheets of his bed protectively and with dire determination.

Then a scream echoed next to him, "Ahhhhhhh!"

Which caused Justin to face the screamer with his own, "Ahhhhhhh!" But as soon as Justin saw that Zeke was the other person screaming, he cut his holler short. "Why are you screaming, Zeke?" He quickly questioned loudly over his best friend.

Zeke abruptly stopped screaming. "Because you were screaming! I came in here to wake you up because you were screaming, but then when you randomly jumped up, and you scared me half to death," Zeke admitted sheepishly. "Hence my screaming…"

Justin sat in silence, waiting for Zeke's breathing to calm.

"You know I'm sensitive to the element of surprise…" Zeke quietly added a moment later.

Justin dragged his hand down his face, tired and stressed. "Yes, I know, Zeke…" he droned.

"Well, anyway, I came in here to talk to you. You gotta stop screaming! It's been getting annoying lately, man," Zeke sympathetically expressed.

Justin raised an eyebrow. "Annoying? Well _sorry_ I can't control the volume of my scream _while I'm asleep!_" Justin quipped. "It kinda happens when you have nightmares sometimes. And sheesh, it was just once!"

Justin looked at Zeke, who then winced.

"This is the only time, right, Zeke?" Justin questioned. When his skinny little friend averted eye-contact, Justin continued to ask. "_Right_, Zeke?"

Zeke nervously laughed. He crossed his legs tightly together, making it seem like he had to really go to the bathroom, but Justin knew it meant he was uncomfortable.

"You…might…have…been…" Zeke started slowly, saying each word as if it was its own sentence. "doingitsinceyoumovedin," Zeke rapidly completed, giving himself a slight pat on the back for finally getting the words out of his mouth.

"This has been going on _since I moved in_?" Justin shrieked, quickly abandoning his bed to walk out to the kitchen. Coffee was calling him. _Big time_. "Why didn't you say anything?" Justin demanded as he poured and sipped the hot beverage black. He could hear the footsteps of his best friend just then coming into the room.

"Well…" Zeke said uneasily, "You were calling out Alex's name all the time and screaming, of course, I kinda thought you were having one of _those_ dreams…" Zeke confessed, blushing massively now. "So, I didn't want to say anything, plus I didn't think it would be happening everyday, but this morning was the last straw for me!"

Justin almost laughed, seeing the expression his friend just held when he thought Justin was having sex dreams of Alex. Zeke was surprising cool with the relationship, but he was still uneasy about it. It was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"Well, it wasn't one of _those_ dreams," Justin corrected, "I think…" he added quietly to himself. "I've just been having these nightmares lately. The same thing happens every time and no matter what I do, I can't change anything about what happens," Justin sadly enlightened his friend.

"Tell me the dream," Zeke told Justin, trying his best to console his shaken up wizard-friend.

"Max, Alex, and I are doing the competition, and I'm so close to winning when Alex falls. I stop to help her, but she starts flickering away. Max wins. I start flickering away. I ask Max to help us, but he says that we're out of time or something like that. Then, I wake up…" Justin relayed to Zeke.

"Hmmm," Zeke hummed, stroking his chin lightly in thought. "I think the dream is symbolizing you're relationship with Alex. I think this whole not seeing her thing is really taking a toll on you," Zeke pointed out. "I think the flicker represents you slowly losing her. And if Max wins the competition, you feel you might lose her completely, which also makes you feel like you're losing yourself as well…"

"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Justin broached, downing the last of his coffee.

"Hey!" Zeke protested. "That class I'm taking on meanings of dreams is helpful, admit it!"

"I'm fine!" Justin insisted, turning his back on his best friend to refill his coffee cup. "Yes, I miss Alex, but I know she isn't going anywhere. No matter what. Whether we win the competition or not!"

"But you're pushing her away!" Zeke boldly stated, turning Justin around to face him. "What if she finds someone new who will actually be with her all the time. She loves you, Justin, but she can't wait around for your call, saying you're ready!"

Justin looked down guiltily. He knew Zeke was right. He had gotten himself so wrapped up in school and, most importantly, the competition, that he pushed Alex away. _Would_ she honestly take him back at the beck of his call after the competition, or even today?

Justin's phone then rang. He glanced at the caller i.d. and saw it was Alex. He quickly ignored it.

"Was that Alex?" Zeke questioned.

"Yeah…" Justin reluctantly admitted.

"Bro, I know you stare at the picture of her on your desk all day…And I know that everytime you pick up your cell you are _so_ tempted to call her, to hear her voice. I know you're dying, but these dreams have a bigger meaning to it and you know it!" Zeke hollered, giving Justin a hearty, friendly slap on the back for encouragement.

Justin then stood up straighter. He placed his coffee mug down on the counter and looked Zeke straight in the eye. "You know what, Zeke? You just might be right!"

"I know I know I am!" He exclaimed loudly, jumping up in excitement.

"I should run over to see her right now!"

"Yes, yes you should!" Zeke encouraged, happily. Justin nodded, trying to accept his own idea and put it into action. Zeke, sensing his slight apprehension, punched him in the arm. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see Alex," Justin answered, rubbing the sore spot on his arm after the blow. The bruise from Alex's punch was still lightly there.

"I. CAN'T. HEAR. YOU!" Zeke yelled, handing Justin his jacket and starting to steer Justin's frame towards the front door.

"I'm going to see Alex!" Justin hollered back, slipping into his jacket and opening the door.

"Yeah!" Zeke celebrated, throwing his fist into the air. "And when are you going to see her?"

"After my walk!" Justin shouted, wincing immediately at the dejected face that grew on his friend's face.

"No, now, Justin! _Now_!" Zeke bellowed.

Justin's eyebrows etched together, worry taking over his brief confident attitude. "I-I just can't, Zeke…not now. I did all of this for a reason and what if she really doesn't take me back with open arms?"

"Of course Alex will take you back," Zeke told him sincerely.

Justin groaned. "I'm going to take that walk…I'll be back later," The wizard told his friend. Zeke nodded sadly, and slowly closed the door.

Justin huffed out a heavy breath as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He started walking slowly down the hallway, trying to tackle all his issues, fears, and wants to see what he truly needed.

Suddenly his phone started vibrating and he fished it out. Alex was calling him. Again. What could she possibly want? She said she was going to be giving him space. Did that already get too boring for her?

Well, it _was _Alex.

Justin pressed the ignore button and then quickly stuffed the electronic device into his jean pocket again.

"You know it's very rude not to answer calls…" An old, feminine, dominant voice spoke. Justin jumped at the sudden sound, but soon saw it was the older woman from down the hall, who Alex had yelled at what feels like forever ago. She was standing in the doorway of her apartment, watching him in amusement.

"It's kinda complicated," Justin answered in his defense.

"As complicated as those nightmares you've been having?" She questioned, her lips curving into a knowing smile.

Justin's eyes bulged and suddenly his mouth was dried up. "How-How did you know I was having nightmares? Are you spying on me?" Justin frantically spattered, stuttering profoundly.

"Why don't you join me for some tea," The woman said, opening her door to welcome Justin in.

Justin stood there in the hallway, hesitant and petrified, but there was something about this woman that drew him in, so, warily, he stepped inside.

* * *

**A/N:** HAS IT REALLY BEEN SO LONG? I am so so so so sorry, for making some of you wait so long. I never wanted to wait this long. I didn't even realize it's been like 3 months until I read a recent review! Wow! Well, I do have excuses, like always. XD I did move and there were holidays, but I'm not going to bore you with that. Most of it was laziness! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually don't think there will be too many more, actually. :(

AND THE LAST EPISODE AIRED! How did you guys like that finale? I actually love how it ended. I think it opens a lot of doors for Jalex in the future. ;)

So please, review! Show me you are still here! Haha!

**REVIEW REPLY: **

**Resisting-Moonlight: **So glad you are enjoying the story. Thanks for reviewing, but also for giving me the last bit of inspiration I needed to finish the chapter! XD

**Xxvannyzz: **Thanks for reviewing!

**SandlotGurrl1999: **Thanks for reviewing!

**TNT and KC: **Thanks for reviewing!

**KrenWinchester01: ** Sorry you've been waiting so long! Lol! Thanks for reviewing!

**Mahalia1996: **Thanks for reviewing!

**I'mtheonlyone: ** It would be a pretty interesting idea if that did happen. Thanks for reviewing!

**Luvable101: **Still with me now? Lol! Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **I don't like the two apart either, but soon they won't be…lol Thanks for reviewing!

**1405Smiley0514: **Justin really is a cutie! Lol. I want to marry Justin Russo. XD Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **I just _had_ to put Hugh in there. I always loved when he was on the show. Glad you liked that. Thanks for reviewing too!

**Dolpher: **I just type, letting the story take it's course, so I hope this chapter suffices. Lol Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **Thanks for reviewing!


	15. Chapter 15

"JERRY!" Alex heard her mother shriek upstairs. The young wizard was currently in the living room on the orange couch, watching some lame reality show, waiting until she was yelled at to help down at the substation. Alex groaned, letting her head fall back onto the couch. It was still too early for any type of yelling. The only reason she was even up this early (10am) was because her dad said he'd take away her phone and art stuff, at least that's what she thinks he meant…he actually said toys…but whatever, Alex couldn't risk getting her phone taken away, just in case Justin decided to answer any of her calls.

Their parents had been getting weirder and weirder over the past couple days. They would give her odd looks, constantly ask her why she looked so old, where was Justin, and why was the bushy-haired kid trying to eat soup with a fork? All things they should know, but seemed to forget so easily now. Alex would call Justin (of course she wouldn't get an answer though)about once a day, trying to tell him about their parents, but then her parents would seem to be back to normal, so Alex thought maybe everything was fine. But the cycle kept on repeating itself.

Alex then heard her father bound up the stairs from the substation, answering to his wife's holler. He reached the top level, ready to sprint up the next level of stairs, when his eyes fell on Alex. His eyes widened, quickly grabbing one of the kitchen chairs nearby, and held it out in-front of him, as if to ward off some threat.

Alex quickly turned around to look behind, hoping no monster of some sort escaped from the wizard world again, but when she turned around, nothing was there. She pivoted back around to face her dad, who had edged closer in the few seconds, the chair legs facing her, reading to joust.

_Ohh…yeah, this didn't look good…_

"Who are you?" he demanded, his face turning red as he threateningly moved closer, making a movement to almost hit her with the chair.

Alex quickly scattered off the couch to avoid any contact. She looked at her dad, baffled. "It's me, Alex, you're daughter!" she pleaded. Jerry was stepping closer and closer, so Alex decided to back away, soon both were circling around the couch.

"I think I know my daughter when I see her, and you are not my daughter! My daughter is a little princess, not some art-hippy-freak like you!" he shouted, rounding the couch as he insulted her.

Alex's mouth went agape and froze, forgetting a moment that she was being pursued by her father with chair. "I am _not_ a art-hippy-WHOA!" she suddenly said, when Jerry jabbed the chair towards her, but luckily missed.

"Dad, stop, please!" Alex begged desperately, her voice reaching a higher octave out of fear.

"Stop calling me dad!" he angrily insisted.

The clanging of heels then rushed down the stairs. "Jerry! The kids are missing!" Theresa exclaimed, fear evident on her face. "All their little beds, clothes, and toys- well except for Justin's actions figures- are gone, Jerry!" she worryingly accounted. "Did your brother accidentally take us to an alternate universe or something again?" she then accused, but soon her eyes landed on Alex. "Who's she?"

"I think she's the one who took our kids!" Jerry told his wife. Theresa's eyes swiftly turned to ice as they stared at Alex. A shiver ran up Alex's spine. She was trapped. Her dad was on one side and her mother was on another.

Something was seriously wrong here. At first Alex thought their memory was just slipping a bit, but they were past remembering anything anymore. They seemed to refuse to believe that she was their little girl. Like she was supposed to be five years old still. But-how? Why?

Her parents were gaining on her, Theresa now equipped with the forever famous lamp. Alex only had one way out it seemed, so she quickly reached into her boot and pulled out her wand. Just before each party stuck her with their weapon of choice, she was gone. Only the familiar sound of a shattered lamp was heard as she was flashed away.

…

Justin took a few steps into the old woman's apartment. He could hear the click of the door closing behind him, but didn't hear a lock slide into place, so he took that as a good sign. He folded his hands behind his back, just in case he needed to access his wand in a chance of an emergency.

The apartment's layout was a lot similar to Zeke's, except that it was the mirror of it. The kitchen was off to the right instead of the left, etc.

The old woman came into view, trudging her way to the kitchen as fast as her old joints would let her. She motioned to Justin to follow, which he did apprehensively.

They both took a place at a small round table, only two chairs available to be occupied. The woman looked at Justin with the same amusement she had earlier. She must have known he was ready to crap his pants, and was enjoying watching him squirm, for whatever reason.

Suddenly the woman chuckled lowly. "Mmm," she mused, leaning forward in her seat, studying Justin closely, "he wasn't kidding, was he?"

Justin cleared his throat and gave the older woman a peculiar look. "Who is this he?" he asked, curiously.

"Oh," the woman said, slapping herself lightly on the forehead, "where are my manners? Would you like some tea?"

Noticing that she dodged his question, he opened his mouth to repeat the question. But before he would utter a word, the woman raised a single finger to her lips, motioning for his silence.

"All questions will be answered with time," she assured. "Might as well have some tea with maybe some cookies, right?"

Justin slowly nodded his head, letting the gray-haired woman have her way.

She made no motion to move though, but instead snapped her fingers. With a small flash, tea and a plate of cookies appeared in-front of both of them. Justin's jaw dropped in shock. He raised his head from the appearing food to face his elder. "So, you're a wizard?"

"Well, don't we have a smart one here," she dryly quipped back, the tone reminding him so much of Alex.

Forcing himself not to argue with the woman- one because she was his elder and you shouldn't disrespect your elders, and two because he didn't want to get distracted and off topic anymore than they were-he took a deep breath, flaring his nostrils nosily as he exhaled. "How did you know I was having nightmares?"

The lady took a sip of her tea, her eyes trained on his as she drank out of her cup slowly. "I gave them to you, of course!" she finally announced, as if he should have known already.

"What? Why?" Justin questioned.

"I have access to the future and I saw some trouble in yours getting ready to brew, so I wanted to help you and warn you!"

"Why couldn't you just tell me that? What's the problem?" Justin shot back tightly.

"The council has strick policies-"

"Oh, so you're on the council?" Justin interrupted.

"Yes and no," the woman replied with a short wave of the hand. "It depends what schemes I've pulled that century, but anyway, we're not allowed to tell anyone else their future, but there's loopholes like anything else…" she explained.

"Through dreams…" Justin concluded, thoughtful.

"Thanks for the clarification, Captain Obvious," she quipped. And honestly, if Justin just closed his eyes, he could've sworn it was Alex talking.

"Wait-you're not Alex, are you? Trying to get me to talk to you?"

"No, egghead!" she hollered, and with the flick of her wrist an invisible force smacked him in the back of the head. Justin winced from the pain. "The names Betty. I'm with the Love and Romance Council."

"Love and Romance council? I was there before. I didn't see you," Justin recalled, wracking his brain to try and remember this sarcastic, dry-witted woman.

"Eh," she sounded, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Sometimes I'm there, sometimes I'm not. I like to be out in the field more than sitting in a stupid office all day."

Justin nodded, showing he understood her line of thought.

"Wait," Justin began, a memory recollecting. "Betty…Betty…that name sounds familiar…"

"Well, it's not like it's an uncommon name," Betty responded sarcastically. Justin gave her a pointed look. "_Fine_," she gave in, "Sam probably mentioned me when he talked to you and your girlfriend a couple months back at the Love and Romance Council…"

Justin's eyes widened in recognition. "Yes! Oh wow," Justin breathed, smiling widely. "You're Sam's Betty! The head of the incest department at the Love and Romance Council Sam! You're the Betty he kept talking about!"

Betty rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. He's got me watching over you and your sister, making sure things run smoothly because he has such a freakin' sweet spot for you, it's ridiculous! He's so convinced you guys are the younger version of us, but I don't really see it…"

They then both sat in silence as Justin processed everything in his mind. "So…" Justin drawled out leisurely after a minute, trying to get back on the main topic at hand, "something bad is happening in my future-"

"Near future," Betty curtly corrected under a feign cough.

"Near future?" Justin exclaimed, rising to his feet by the surprise. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Sooner?" Betty repeated with astonishment. "I'm not even supposed to be telling you _at all_, let alone give you the _same dream_ for the past _couple weeks_. It's not my fault you're dense in the head!" she defended herself. "I thought he was supposed to be smart…" Justin heard her murmur the last part quietly to herself.

"Okay, okay," Justin said, pacing back and forth the length of the kitchen. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself down. "What do I do now?"

"You find your girl and figure out what the hell is wrong!" she exclaimed, getting up from her seat at the table to prod him closer to the exit.

* * *

**A/N:** So, hey, guys…still remember me? Lol Hopefully you do, and the story. I'm so sorry this takes forever. It's never my intention. I'm not going to make you read my excuses, but I am REALLY sorry. PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know you're still reading! Tell me what you think! ;)

**REVIEW REPLY:**

**TkeleChoG: **Glad you like the story! Sorry it's taking so long to update. Thanks for reviewing though!

**Anaoymous: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Yoshiman777: **Really glad you enjoyed the last chapter. The story did start with Alex's Logo, like you said, and it's as if nothing else really happened like the show. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dulscar: **I been lazing with reading and writing myself, so don't worry! Lol. And we'll find out more about the parents next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dolpher: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Puppykin98: **Glad you like the story! And the story, if you read the one before this one, started with "Alex's Logo". So, everything that happened after that episode I don't really incorporate into my story. Thanks for reviewing!

**WickedSweet123: **Sorry for making you wait a long while again. :( And, oddly, I didn't feel bad for Max in the finale. He's Max. He doesn't use his magic much and I really don't think he minded too much when he lost them. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**iCraveBat: **Whoa, I can't believe you stayed up so late to read my story! Lol. And wow, you guessed it was TJ in Baby, it's Fact? That's awesome, and seriously, I can't believe you just got Betty right too! When I read this review my jaw literally dropped. You're too good! Haha! :) Thanks for reviewing!

**Epuresoul: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Luvable101: **I'll never give up the story. You just have to patient. XD Thanks for reviewing though!

**Anon: **Thanks for reviewing!

**ImmortalDarkPassion: **You know things will eventually be okay. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**Resisting-Moonlight: **Mmm, you were right about the old lady. Lol. Good job! :) Thanks for reviewing!

**RightNowI'mBord: **Thanks for reviewing!

**Hmmm: **I've read a lot about dreams and meanings of them, but I wouldn't take my word for it. Lol. I just kinda made up things that sounded interesting. Thanks for reviewing!

**Unknown: **You'll find out what's going on with the parents in the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!


End file.
